Highlights of Ica, we had great menú when we first got there. Menú is the 'meal of the day'. Many local restaurants serve this, it's usually soup and a main dish, my favorite is caldo de pollo/chicken soup and trucha frita/fried trout. often you can choose from a few options. And it is by far the best deal in town 6-8 soles, instead of 15-20. (exchange rate 3:1). But yes we had a delicious meal and then got a taxi out of town to this oasis in the desert called...

After a great time in Huaraz we returned to Lima for a short while and stayed with our friends again. We spent time doing errands and chatting. Molly needed a pair of sandals and had to go to 8 different stores because the largest size the shops carried was 2 sizes smaller than her feet, who'd a thunk? Its a surprising challenge going somewhere where you are the biggest by far :) at least if you are in the market for certain things. We had a great short stay in...

After a not-to-comfortable 10 hour overnight bus ride we arrived in Huaraz, the capitol of the Ancash province in Peru's central Andes. It's located Northeast of Lima, a little less than 200km in from the Pacific coast. It's dominated by mountains, most notably the heavily glaciated Cordillera Blanca range that stretches over 150km from North to South and has over 60 different peaks over 6000 meters. In recent decades it has become an often cited example of globa...

We made it to peru :). Yesterdaywe had a nice layover in Ft. lauderdale Florida, we even left the airport and took some city buses to the beach. We got pink pretty fast (our sunscreen was in our checked bags). It was a fun outing and we got back to the airport in plenty of time, 3 hours early. Last night we arrived late, customs and immigration were easy, and our friends were waiting to pick us up with our names Ina sheet of paper. Thank goodness too cuz it woul...

Saying hi to friends and family. Lots of great conversation and tying up all the loose ends before we head out on our big trip.