Running

One of the highest compliments anyone could ever pay a woman in the Army is to call them “fast” (as in, wow, she is so fast that she outruns the guys!) and nobody tried as hard as I did to be “fast.” It is one of the best ways for a woman to secure respect for herself in the male-dominated military.

While still a young and very naive farm-girl-turned-West-Point-cadet, I accidentally found out how great running made me feel while jogging with my then roommate, Jasmine. She was a great runner and always believed in the fast runner hiding inside of me. With her, I was able to break every run time I ever scored on the Army Fitness Test. Soon I turned to running as my refuge from the stresses of life there. When the rubber hit the road I was free—free from scrutiny, judgment, and the constant worry over passing DDS (a weird math class only "offered" at West Point). When my girlfriends and I went out and ran together we vocalized our hopes for the future, our doubts about our current boyfriends, as well as our fears about the upcoming exams. We were running—sometimes fast, sometimes slow—and with each step we were helping each other find our way through such an unforgiving place.

Over time, running gave me the confidence I needed to succeed at West Point and in the Army. My passion for running interlaced with my passion to do well and I ended up more successful than some of my male peers! Of course, people could down-play my professional capabilities if they so wanted, but no one could argue about my physical capabilities if I could outrun my competition! My enthusiasm was contagious and when I became the leader of a company I promoted running and physical fitness to all of my employees—civilians and soldiers alike. As their running times went down, their job performance levels increased. People were running better and as a result, they felt better about themselves.

Now here in Chicago I am once again turning to running to get through these turbulent times. We still aren't moved in to our new place, we still only have a couple of friends, we still cannot get new licenses so we cannot register to vote and we still are trying to figure out the traffic. I am trying to decide on my next job and I am still unsure about what I will do. But when I run, I feel free from these worries. I am once again the runner. It feels good to have at least that part of my identity still intact.

One of the activities leading up to running is walking and recently I did quite a bit of walking with my mom, Tina, through the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Running through such a lovely landscape would be a shame because something might be missed! The thousands of bulbs, herbs, fruits, and flowers were in full bloom last Saturday and they absolutely beautiful. Mom knew most of the flowers but there were lots of deviations from the norm and so those flowers held her interest. We spent over three hours fawning over the plants before leaving and visiting a local garage sale, which also had quite a few goodies to look at.

We hope that everyone is doing well. Thanks, Delia, for the encouragement to continue with the step classes. I will probably take another this week. And Mom S, keep those comments coming..at least I know two people read the blog! Some big news is that Nick will also attend the Presidential Inaugeration with me in January...four full days of non-stop politics will be great! And what a year to attend...either the oldest or the darkest president will be elected. I am excited just thinking about it.


Take care everyone,

Nick and Maria

Living in...the suburbs?

Hello everyone! I know that quite some time passed since the last time I wrote a blog. You may wonder what we are doing. We are probably wondering what you are doing, too! Since we both are wondering what everyone is doing, I have a solution. I will post our latest activities and everyone else will write us back. Plan?

As some of you may know, Nick accepted a job from ITT that is located in Morton Grove, which is a suburb just north of Chicago, in late June. He had quite a few offers on the table but is really happy that he chose ITT. He works from 7 a.m. to around 4 p.m. every day and is always on the move, working with a variety of people. He even impressed a couple of workers because he knows where their hometown is in Poland! As a great perk to accepting the position, the company set us up in a furnished apartment until we found a place to live. So here we are in the suburb of Northbrook, until we move into our new place later next month.

Our new apartment is located in a northern neighborhood of Chicago called Roger's Park. We will be located directly on Lake Michigan in a two-bedroom condo that is near public transportation and many parks. Nick plans on swimming in the lake everyday, since the water does look clear from the little sandy beach outside. I told him how cold it will get here but he may have to find out for himself. Wrigley Field is only eight stops away on the El train from the apartment, too, and some of our friends live just one stop away! It is on the border with a suburb called Evanston which is home to Northwestern University. Once we move in, we will welcome any and all visitors!

My family often asks me what I do everyday since I am not working. Well, that depends on the day. Today I am scrubbing the ceilings, the walls, and every surface in the apartment, as well as burning candles and washing any fabric I can. Last night while my wonderful hubby was cooking bacon a couple of pieces burned. As I entered the apartment I was enveloped in bacon-burn-smoke which has not gone away. Luckily we still enjoyed our BLT's even as the smoke tickled our noses and clogged our pores. I guess that was a learning point in cooking bacon for us both.

Almost everyday I am able to go to a nearby health spa/gym that is free to all that stay at our furnished apartment living area. So far I have humiliated myself in step class and almost pulled a muscle in yoga but I am not giving up! I participated in two studies at the local university (and got paid for it) and looked around to volunteer locally. I am signed up to volunteer as an ESL teacher for a Chicago non-profit but my training isn't until September so I haven't actually done that yet. I looked around for local things to do and signed us both up for spanish lessons starting this fall which we look forward to. I also spend about five minutes a day trying to convince Nick to take dance lessons with me. So far no luck.

But most of my time is taken up by looking for the right job. I participated in a job conference and was asked for a second interview by both companies I interviewed with but I declined. I applied for a job at a yoga company (very courageous after the pulling muscle incident) but after some thought turned down the interview. Am I being too picky? Maybe, but I have the time to do it :) I also made the decision to not return to school at UW-Milwaukee. The three hour drive round-trip turned me off to that opportunity. Perhaps in the future I will be able to go back.

Happy Birthday to Grammy and belated birthday to Ira. He is one years old now and almost walking. I would like to say HELLO to Jose Salmon, our Peruvian friend who wrote to us on our blog recently. To him: I am not sure where this Salmon name is from but it is not from Spain. Thank you for writing to us. We really enjoyed our time in Peru and recommend to everyone to go and see the famous Machu Picchu.

Have a nice day!

Love,

The Chicago Salmons

Hello from the Hill of Mt. Desales!

Surprise! We are home! As some of you know, Nick and I decided to return home a couple of weeks early in order to attend to personal affairs. So far we have seen many family members and friends. Nick is also attending job conferences since we are finished with traveling for some time. Sigh!

Nick and I both loved the trip but we each had different interpretations of which we liked the best and what we disliked. Below we have some of our top experiences and also some of our most nerve-racking experiences. After reading the blog for the past few months, you can decide what you think was the best experience!

Maria’s Top Experiences
Inka Trail into Machu Picchu (Peru)
Watching tango dancers on the streets of Buenos Aires and then taking lessons (Argentina)
The Outback—hiking King’s Canyon and Uluru/Ayer’s Rock (Australia)
Marveling over the Taj Mahal (India)
Amphawa Floating Market and home-stay with Toon…best food of the trip J (Thailand)
Holding a panda and koala (China and Australia)
Hiking in Patagonia to see icebergs floating in large lakes of glacier melt (Argentina)
Swimming with penguins in the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
Climbing on the Great Wall of China (China)
Staying with a family overnight in Lake Titicaca (Peru)

Nick’s Top Experiences
Scuba Diving Thailand, Maldives, Great Barrier Reef
Swimming with Dolphins in New Zealand, Sea lions and Hammerheads in Galapagos
Entering the gate to the Taj Mahal
Watching the fog lift from Machu Picchu
Wine tasting in Mendoza
Walking the Great Wall of China
Walking around the Red Square of Moscow
Visiting Ayers Rock (Uluru)
Hiking in Patagonia Argentina
Going in the tunnels used by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam conflict

Maria’s most nerve racking experiences
Crossing the street in Hanoi, Vietnam
Riding a bus through intense flooding in Vietnam…we had no idea where road ended and ocean began
Bungy Jumping in Auckland…sometimes I get nervous thinking about it!
Swimming with sharks in Maldives, the Great Barrier Reef and Ecuador
Avoiding toutsc cows, and poop in the overcrowded streets of India
White water rafting…without the boat; just a fast river and a bogey board (New Zealand)
Using different toilets around the world (squatties, holes, etc...)
Flying over the Nasca Lines one week after a deadly plane crash there (Peru)
Riding an overnight bus…anywhere
Taking the metro during rush hour with all of our backpacks in Shanghai (China)

Nick's most nerve racking experiences
Walking around Russia
Overnight bus and train rides
Avoiding pickpockets/thieves in Buenos Aires and India
Riding a boat on the river in Bangkok
Ordering food in China (chicken bones, cat ears, pig snout, slimy eels...difficult to decide the lesser of all gross-ness)
Trying to make budget
Not having ATM or credit cards work when entering China and Chile
Almost missing connections on buses or airplanes
Getting scammed in Shanghai (the old tea ceremony routine...it cost us a day's budget, it could have been a lot worse!)
Finding a job in the U.S. while traveling

Currently we are in Catonsville, Maryland. I am actually flying down to North Carolina tomorrow to see Lizzie, Sharon, Matt, Meghan, and baby Abby. Nick will be flying to two different locations early next week for some interviews. If anyone needs to get in touch with us, please send us an email. Although this is the end of the trip, we may keep this blog until we decide where we will live. After that, I am still undecided. It is better for me to think that I am interesting after this trip than to realize that I’m not. :)

Have a great day and Happy Birthday to Anna in a few days!

Love,


Nick and Maria

P.S. Thanks to Nancy for the Title

The Galápagos Islands

A few weeks ago I never knew such birds as the Blue Footed Boobie really existed and that they actually had sky-blue feet. I would not have guessed that a bird called the “Magnificent Frigate” could puff up its scarlet throat sack to resemble a giant red balloon with a little beak poking over the top. Of course, I knew that giant tortoises are huge but I had no idea how amazing they are, even as they do little things like crane their ancient necks. And most of all, never in my life would I dreamed that I could float eye-to-eye with five Galápagos Penguins as we all tried to examine each other in the cool ocean. Where are these fearless and beautiful creatures located? Nowhere else but The Galápagos Islands.

The Galápagos Islands are located off the coast of Ecuador and contain over 2,800 species, of which half are found only in these islands. Nick and I dreamed of coming to these islands ever since we started our long voyage months ago. We booked a tour to the archipelago with Intrepid Travel and met up with the group in Quito before flying out together and into Baltra, the airport island in the Galápagos. There we met Billy, our tour guide, who drove us to the harbor so we could load the boat.

We booked seven nights aboard the mighty Spondylus ship because it traveled to quite a few islands in seven days and seemed to be semi-comfortable. Indeed, the ship was a nice size and only a few years old. We all had a nice sundeck to lie around on and a little bar to refresh ourselves at. Nick and I even had the “honeymoon suite” which meant that not only did we have a double bed, but our room was also on the top deck, allowing us to escape the noisy anchor and smelly fumes.

Onboard, the meals were prepared by Manual, the 22-year-old chef, who always made lots of fresh fish, shrimp, chicken, and some sort of potato and veggie. Really, all of the crew members were excellent and friendly. We became friends with four of them, practicing our Spanish as they tried out their English. Nick was invited to play in a 6-on-6 soccer game on the island of Floreana which lies almost on the equator. By the end of the game Nick was no longer called by his name. Instead, the crew anointed him “lavisita” which (they told us) means “my good friend” in local slang. We haven’t looked it up yet, but we hope it wasn’t an inside joke of “crazy red-headed gringo.”

Besides just joking with the crew and snorkeling through the clear water we hiked quite a bit on the islands. What we found exceeded our expectations and amazed us at each discovery. Nowhere else will we see the extremely rare Lava Gull that laughs as it squawks, the Red Footed Boobie with its blue beak, the Galápagos Hawks (one of the only predators on the islands), or Hooded Mockingbirds. Nowhere else will a Waved Albatross nest on a tourist path and wait calmly as over 16 people walk on by, take photos, and awwww over its splendor. All of the inhabitants on these islands are unruffled and bored with tourists so much so that they are unafraid of the European man wearing a Speedo everywhere with little else on but a camera. Even I am afraid of that spectacle. But then again, I cannot fly away.

Seriously, though, where else on earth will the Marine Iguanas spend just as much time on land as they do underwater feeding on algae, and not mind that we watch? To me, they look hilarious as they stick their little heads above water as they swim around, as if they don’t want to get their hair wet, before diving down for food. Nick observed quite a few as we snorkeled and commented on how powerful their tails whip them through the water effortlessly. Additionally, we swam with full-size sea lions which are somewhat tame yet so curious that they tried to steal our snorkels from our faces with their mouths! More amazing are the giant sea turtles that lazily made their way through the water until Nick and I got too close. After that, even an Olympic swimmer would have a hard time catching up with them. Nowhere else are 6 foot-long Hammerhead sharks so easily watched by snorkelers who float only 10-15 feet above them with no fear of an attack. On several occasions we observed two to four below us, just resting. And finally, I do not think another place exists where one can swim with penguins for hours. Floating with them, eye-to-eye, was one of my favorite things about this entire trip.

Additionally we stopped by a humungous flamingo lagoon, made friends with loads of pelicans every morning as they propped themselves on outside of our window, stepped in plenty of Masked Boobie poop, dreamed of eating a huge Sally Lightfoot Crab (no-can-do as anyone caught with a Galapagos animal/creature is thrown in jail), chased brightly colored Land Iguanas around, and met up with Lonesome George, a huge turtle that is the last of his kind. Only 100 years old, he is quite spry and always up to mischief. We watched him as he tried to impregnate a tree. After 100 years he still hasn’t figured it all out so maybe he will truly be the last of his kind.

After seven nights on the ship we disembarked and made our way back to Quito. Although this city is the capital, it isn’t too exciting except for buying pirated DVDs and panama hats. On Tuesday we visited the Mitad del Mundo monument which is dedicated to the equator. Unfortunately it is actually 200 meters away from the real equator…oops. A museum was erected on the correct line, though, and we had fun doing all sorts of experiments. For instance, as we Northern Hemispherer’s drain our sinks all of the water swirls counter-clockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere the swirl goes clockwise. However, on the equator the water drains directly down without any swirl or swish. It is also easier to balance on the equator and we both enjoyed balancing a raw egg on a little nail head. Perhaps the best experiment was on a scale. On the equator everyone weighs less. Either that or Nick really weighs 150 pounds. You decide. Before leaving the real equator we also got to see a shrunken human head. Pretty gross and out of place, but interesting to see nonetheless.

Now Nick and I are ready to move on. We fly into San Jose, Costa Rica on Friday. Coming soon with be a folder of our favorite photos and our "top five" of the entire trip. More on that, later.

Happy Birthday to little Olivet Maria. She will turn three on the 6th. Also, Happy May Day to everyone else. We will see you all very soon!

Love,

Nick and Maria

Adios, Peru!

With each region in Peru offering so many different attractions, it’s hard to figure out which places should be visited. After our successful trip on the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu, Nick and I thought that nothing else we did in this country could even compare to our experience there. We were wrong, of course, as over the past week and a half we set sail on the highest and biggest lake in South America, visited the deepest canyon in the world, and soared high above the bizarre, yet fascinating Nasca lines, all before driving into one of the biggest cities in the world—Lima.

An undeniably incredible sight, Lake Titicaca is the world’s largest high-altitude body of water, being over 8500 square kilometers in area. Floating on the surface of this large lake are the man-made Uros Floating Islands. Nick and I landed on one of these islands and felt a weird squish. Each island is made of layer upon layer of reeds, and are quite springy to step on. Everything is made up of these reeds—boats, houses, the island, and they are even used for snacking on. Although interesting, the islanders are so poor and face many difficulties to keep their way of life alive (think about it...toilets? cemetary? bathing?). As we took a man made reed boat to another island one little 5-year-old girl was so desperate for money she jumped into our boat and sang songs for tips. After awhile, we paid her to stop singing.

Later we visited a genuine, non-floating island named Amantani Island. While there we stayed overnight at the home of a local couple. This island is also poor and the people have no electricity or indoor plumbing. We stayed in a little loft on reed beds and spent some time speaking (in Spanish!) with the man and his daughter as his wife cooked for us. Being guests, they gave us the best food they could offer which included many types of root veggies we never ate before and eggs fresh from their chickens. Meat is a rare commodity here. At night we dressed by candle light into traditional dress (me in bright red skirt and an embroidered top, Nick in a giant poncho) before heading uphill to a local dance hall where all of the guests learned how to dance traditionally to the tune of a local boy band. A few beers later, even Nick was having fun!

The following morning we had an early breakfast of pancake crepes before we presented the family with a gift of oranges (fruit is a rare treat here) and a small tip. Graciously they dressed in their own traditional clothes for a photo with us before we headed down to the pier. As we waited for our boat to work (it had the engine of an old Dodge car) I played a little with a 9 month old baby named Anthony. He was so adorable that I gave him my little LuLu the MooMoo doll which has hid in my sock bag for the past few months. Anthony was delighted and so was his mother, as she said it was his first toy. I was just happy that somebody would cherish LuLu as much as I did.

After Lake Titicaca we took a local bus to the colonial white town of Arequipa. In this beautiful city there is much to offer. First we visited the Santa Catalina Convent, a gorgeous place that housed almost two hundred nuns and three hundred servants from the 16th century on. With its bright blue walls, ubiquitous red flowers, fish filled fountains, ornate confessionals, and lovely paintings, Nick commented that he knew Mama (his maternal grandma) would enjoy a walk through these Catholic walls. Afterwards, we rushed over to see “Juanita” the famous ice princess who was discovered in a nearby mountain and is over 500 years old. Since she was frozen in ice she is almost perfectly preserved, as are around five other mummies that were found. We actually saw “Celita” as Juanita is touring Japan right now. On Celita we could even see her entire body in a cross-legged position, some of her skin, all of her long hair, and her little satchel full of coca leaves. This museum was really amazing and we liked discovering it. Jere would probably find this place interesting. Maybe Juanita will tour up to Waupaca someday!

Nearby Arequipa is a famous canyon. Twice the size of the Grand Canyon, the enormous Colca Canyon, is one of Peru’s biggest attractions. We took a two day trip to the canyon and enjoyed looking down into the abyss as dozens of condors flew overhead. The condors were great to watch, with many of them coming just a few feet from us as they soared, but we had to keep moving as we only had a few days to get to Lima before our flight out.

Before we made it to Lima, though, we stopped over in the small city of Nasca. There in the deserts of southern Peru intricate symbols are etched throughout the sand, origin unknown. A series of animal figures and geometric shapes, to include spider monkeys, hummingbirds, and a whale, had us gaping out the window of the small airplane we had to hire to see them all. You see, these shapes are huge! The smallest shape is 30 meters and the largest is 180 meters long! Although hundreds of years old, they still look new and we could decipher each character. Although no one knows exactly how these shapes came to be, one theorists said they are possibly a kind of agricultural calendar to help regulate the planting and harvesting of crops. Nick thought that they were used for signaling other life forms. Whatever they are, they are a great tourist sight!

The capital city of Lima is not much to write about but nine million people do live there, so I guess that is interesting to note. Lots of people. Lots of cars. Lots of noise! And the environment is much different from the Andes where we spent most of our time and the people are a lot different than the indigenous population elsewhere in the country. We only had one day there and that was fine for us. We did our laundry, ate some snacks, and bought a few gifts. We flew out of Peru on Saturday and into Quito, Ecuador. Here we are now waiting to meet up with our group that goes to the Galapagos Islands on Monday.

Many thanks to Nancy B. for pointing out that our waiter from the Star Princess is named Nelson. I think that she was the only one to read that long oratory entitled “South America, Part I” so I really do thank her. All that writing was not for naught! To everyone else, thanks for tuning in. We will be on a boat for eight days starting on Monday to see the many wonders of the Galapagos. After that, on to Costa Rica. Have a great week!

Love,
Us

Machu Picchu

Few people realize how much we owe to the ancient Peruvians. As we eat the white potato or any variety of corn (they created over 300 types) none of us appreciate that the early Incas developed these foods, among many others. They also developed useful drugs such as quinine and cocaine (before it was abused). Their whole civilization was marked by creative genius, artistic aptitude, and knowledge of agriculture which has never been surpassed by any other group, past or present.

In order to truly appreciate and understand this civilization, which took hundreds of years to develop, Nick and I decided to transverse the Inca Trail on our quest to visit the sacred city of Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail, which was incredibly well built and still in prime condition, crosses through dense forests, near deep canyons, over parts of the Andes Mountains, above the Amazon River, and eventually into the jungle. We also passed by 18 archaeological complexes dotted along the trail which can still be seen in their ancient splendor. Every year over 20,000 crazy hikers from around the world walk along the extraordinary 39 kilometers and into Machu Picchu. We were among a group of 15 hikers, 20 porters (carrying all of our gear as animals are not allowed on the trail), and two guides that decided to tackle the trail beginning on April 5.

The journey started in the village of Ollantaytambo at kilometer 82 of the railway. Initially the hike was easy and we all talked about various things, getting to know each other. We stopped by a local Indian village and tried cactus fruit (good for the digestion) before ceasing our discussions as we tried to climb up our first incline. Later in the day we enjoyed a scrumptious 3 course lunch prepared by our very own cook before continuing to climb throughout the afternoon. Around 5 p.m. we made it to our campsite which was already set up by the porters, so we enjoyed popcorn and tea before dinner. What service!

The second day was much more difficult as we had to climb up to 4,200 meters, crossing the Warmiwañusqa pass, also known as “Dead Woman’s Pass” in the freezing, unrelenting rain. It was extremely difficult for our dear Nick as the llama he ate two days ago (which was mentioned in the last blog) still caused him terrible pains that even cactus fruit couldn’t cure. Instead of calling an emergency helicopter we spoke to our medic and he luckily had super-super-strength medicine that helped Nick continue the hike. Even though it was a very strenuous hike that day we were rewarded with a wonderful campsite view with green, majestic mountains and snow-capped Andes in the backdrop. Our guide, Reuben, even broke out a bottle of rum to warm us up before going to bed.

On our third day we woke up to enjoy a huge breakfast of porridge, pancakes, omelets, buttered toast, coffee, and tea, before heading out. Throughout the day we passed through an impressive variety of climates and ecosystems as we went from the cloud forest down into the jungle. We settled into our new camp around 12 p.m. and we were able to take a lukewarm shower, which felt wonderful! In the afternoon we visited “mini-Machu Picchu” and a local waterfall. Later, we were able to purchase beers and I was put in charge of collecting the tips for the porters. As all of them had at least 60 pounds strapped to their backs, often running way ahead of us over the trail, we had no trouble doing this. That night we went to bed full of anticipation for the final day.

On Tuesday we woke up at 4 a.m. in order to prepare for our magical entrance into Machu Picchu. After two hours of early morning hiking we entered the Sun Gate (Inti Punko) for a nice sunrise view. Unfortunately all we could see was lots of fog! Oh no! We moved quickly down the last stretch of the path to make it to Machu Picchu but our triumphant descent was marred as all we could see was lots and lots of thick fog. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the sky cleared and we were amazed! This spectacular, awe-inspiring archeological site stood before us against the most beautiful mountain in the world. Our guides took us around this amazing city, which is mostly intact, before the train crowds arrived at 10:30 a.m. We saw everything—a still correct sundial, the temples, the courtyard, different houses for the priests, bath areas, storage areas, and even the Inca bridge. Afterwards we took some time to ourselves to explore before heading down into the local village of Agua Calientes.

At a distance of 800m East of the town of Machu Picchu, there are under ground hot sulfur springs which bubble up from the rocky under ground at varying temperatures. Most of our tour group enjoyed the springs together before taking the train back to Cusco. Nick and I decided to stay a night before heading back into Cusco, which is where we are now. Tomorrow we head over to Lake Titicaca where we will be for three days. We look forward to staying with a local family and also seeing the famous floating islands, which have floated people for generations above the water.

We hope all is well with everyone. Jim and Arlene, if you are reading this, do you remember the name of our head waiter while on the Star Princess? Nick and I have a bet on his name and we would appreciate it if you could help us settle this.

That’s all for now!
Love,
Us

Elevation 11,151 feet

As you all know, elevation is defined as the height of something above sea level. Maryland's mean elevation is 344 feet while the average elevation of Wisconsin is 1,050 feet. Truly, most people can ascend to 8,000 feet (2,500 meters) with little or no effect. Only after reaching a high altitude over 8,000 feet can altitude sickness commonly occur. But how many places are really that high???

Welcome to Cusco, Peru! The elevation of this mountainous city is 11,151 feet. Cusco is the most visited tourist destination in Peru, mostly so adventurers can visit "Ciudad Perdida de los Incas" (Lost City of the Incas), also known as Machu Picchu. What the travel brochures do not tell people is how difficult it can be to acclimatize to such a high climate.

Nick and I arrived into Cusco after flying high over its rugged peaks and overwhelming mountains on Tuesday. Immediately upon arrival we felt the effects of the altitude after landing. While Nick developed a headache, my stomach was in cramps, so for the first day in this colorful city we just laid in bed. Also, it was a bit difficult to get air. Breathing up here is like drinking milk through a child's sippy-cup. There is never enough! (Let it be know that we do not usually drink anything from sippy-cups, just a comparison). With each breath, we want a little bit more of that oxygen/nitrogen mixture to enter our bodies but as hard as we try, we just cannot breathe any deeper.

Besides resting a lot and eating a little, the folk remedy for altitude sickness in Peru is a tea made from the coca plant. Unfortunately, this coca tea tastes like bitter dried grass, steeped with steaming water, and then stirred with a dried twig that happened to have bird poop on it. Maybe I am exaggerating, but how good can dried foliage in hot water really taste? Suffice to say, it is not my favorite drink.

The elevation only slowed us down for two days. On the third day we traveled with a group to see the magnificent Sacred Valley. This steep-sided river valley is filled with colorful markets, fertile planes, and amazing Inca ruins. In the small cities of Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chichero, Inca citadels, farmer’s terraces, and ruins perch high above the current towns of today. And truly each former settlement is more remarkable than the last. The Incas were so intelligent that at every turn Nick and I were shaking our heads, wondering if only they were allowed to continue, what would they have discovered? Maybe they already had the cure for cancer. Or the recipe for Coke. One will never know.

After exploring the ruins, Nick had the courage to try the local delicacy—llama. Nick said it tasted like a combination of chicken and beef. It was tender, tasty and only caused a few hours of discomfort later that night. As for me, I had a wonderful time looking through the markets. The local Indian population weaves and creates hundreds of handicrafts in gorgeous bright colors. I found hats for each of our nephews and nieces in bright green, red, blue, yellow, and pink. I also found a hat for myself to use on the Inca trail. Unfortunately, to my complete annoyance and distress, I forgot all of these items on the tour van when we left. Two days later, the items haven’t turned up so I am assuming they are being re-sold to some other tourists. Oh well, as Lizzie says, "that's life!"

Tomorrow Nick and I will start the four day trek to see the famous Machu Picchu. Out of all of the Inca ruins, this is the most spectacular and well-known. The hike there will not be too easy but we met many travelers who said that it was absolutely incredible, albeit a bit freezing at night. We are renting a few things to stay warm and dry and we hired a personal porter to help us slog through to the end. After Machu Picchu we will spend one night in Aqua Calientes (Hot Water Springs) to soak our aches away. Immediately following that day we are heading towards Puno and Lake Titicaca where we will spend some time on islands and stay with a local family. We are eager to start this part of our adventure!

We hope all is well on the home-front. It is nice to hear from everyone. Happy Birthday to those April babies and big Congratulations to the Ziglars who welcomed little Abby into their lives on March 28. She is a doll. Oh, one more thing! Nick has a message for Jere—he never spit out the wine and drank it all down, especially the free expensive stuff. I was the lightweight who did that. Also, there is no way “A.S.” would ever sound as good as “A.S.S.!”

Love,
Nick and Maria