Installment 4: Amigos!

One wonderful thing about all this celebrating is that we reconnected with old friends and made some sassy new ones! Now, as you know, I am not one who likes to talk to other people or God forbid, be friendly. But, I figured it would be rude not to so I unwound my curls and had little fun for once.

Our Peru Pals

Justin & Sandi, ahem!

Jim & Amy (don't be fooled, they make us look normal)

This bird

Simon and his boy toy, Bill

Don & Dotti bust a move

Not Pictured: Matt Peschau and Elroy the taxi driver

Installment 3: Wedding Festivities!!

Yesika & Ross

The Knutsons brought a new tradition to Peru in the form of the Groom's Dinner (a.k.a the Gringo Dinner) at a cool place called Bistrot 370 in Cusco.

Boys at one end...

Girls at the other?

The wedding itself was only running about 50 minutes late which is practically early in this culture so we were not worried when we caught a taxi to the church 40 minutes after the wedding was supposed to start. We still made it there in plenty of time to see stray dogs wandering around peeing on the wall, and village children sneaking down the aisle to see this grand affair. Both Bride and Groom looked beautiful and it was very special to be in Peru to see Ross marry his new wife!

Mr. & Mrs. Corrales-Knutson?

Happy day!

The religious ceremony was followed by a brief civil ceremony at the reception site. As different as the whole experience was, it still felt familiar. The dinner was top notch with literally dozens of different local dishes, appetizers, main courses, and desserts. It is tradition to set out bottles of scotch whiskey on the tables to get the party started. Yes, we danced, maybe not as well as the locals and maybe my dress kept threatening to fall off, but we just didn't care.

I wore heels!

Don't.even.ask.

Oh, Senor!

See all the wedding photos here

Installment 2: Injuries & Illnesses

The canckle and gnat bits

At all times during this trip, one or the both of us were experiencing at least five of the following maladies (however, I am pleased to report that my feet felt awesome and the low humidity kept my hair frizz-free!):

• headache
• nausea
• explosive diarrhea
• fever
• chills
• night sweats
• a canckle
• concussion and possible brain hemorrhage from falling in the shower
• loss of breath
• faintness
• fatigue
• leg cramps
• menstrual cramps
• cellulitis (in said canckle just dx by Urgent Care)
• bad breath
• gnat bites with itching, swelling, and redness
• parasites?
• extreme flatulence
• heatstroke
• sunburn
• insomnia
• motion-sickness
• irritability
• common cold
• dehydration
• ganglion cyst
  

As a result, we were forced to visit the Peruvian farmicia several times and then carried our own farmicia with us in the backpack which was stocked the following medications:

• Advil
• blue pills (Peruvian Advil?)
• Tylenol PM
• Imodium AD
• red pills (Peruvian Dramamine?)
• Benadryl
• tampons
• Lidocaine patches
• baby wipes
• sunscreen
• Kleenex
• Carmex
• gum
• water sin gas
  

Installment 1: What we ate in Peru

Cocoa leaves for tea ...it's legal, relax.

Let's start with the good stuff first, shall we? The food in Peru was wonderful (well, at first...later on we weren't feeling so hot but I will save that for the Injuries & Illnesses post). We dove right in, being very adventurous in what we tried. Some of the best food we had was in Arequipa but everywhere we went the flavors were awesome. Take a peek at some of the best meals...

Trucha (I think it was crispy trout on yams)

A little bit of everything ( wedding food, first course)

Chocolate fondue ( prize for anyone who can identify the little round fruit?)

Juanes ( chicken & rice in Biajoa leaf) and vegetable curry

Aji de Gallina and corn chowder

Just chocolate mousse

Sizzling lamb, beef, alpaca and ostrich with yummy dipping sauces and French Fries

Pisco sour sampler

Adobo and rocoto rellena

Choclo con queso and palta rellena

Shrimp ceviche with yams and corn

Rocoto relleno and palta rellena

Roasted corn

Fruitas

Not Pictured: bottled water sin gas, trail mix, granola bars, Zone bars, dark chocolate, cereal, Chez Maggie's sausage & red pepper pizza, nasty muna, and the many pills we had to take for all our ailments.

Americanos come home

We are home! We had a WONDERFUL trip full of new experiences, food, people, and culture!! I have so much to share but I will need to do it in various installments. Stay tuned for posts on the following topics: Stray Dogs in the Peruvian Culture, Ro$$ & Yesika's Wedding Festivities, Our Injuries & Illnesses, Surviving a Cab Ride in Arequipa, Cusco- How 11,000 ft Kicked Our Butts, Gnats of the Sacred Valley, and Going Broke in the Andes...

Nori seemed to have a great time with her grandparents while we were away. They went to the Fair, playgrounds, The MN Children's Museum, out to dinner at Tuggs on the river, colored pictures, blew bubbles, played and played! I missed her like crazy, complete with nervous breakdown on the plane ride to Lima from Miami. She seemed happy to see us, kinda staring in disbelief that we had finally returned. While we were away, she developed an affinity for Jimmy Buffet, now requesting "Jimmy Buffet...Cheeseburger" as her favorite song. So happy to be home with our girl!

Thanks Gamma & Gampa (and everyone else who helped out)!

Happy Birthday Anders Ho!

To Andy from the Andes

the best cook/father figure I know. Not for your kids, for me. Hugs!

Feliz cumpleanos a Dorothy!

Tu eres el perro de mis suenos! Tu tienes seis anos hoy!!!