February 7: Denver PJ Day, Peruvian Party Pants, and One Night in Cusco

Here in Denver today is PJ Day.   Today is actually the 8th Annual Denver PJ Day.   PJ Day is a visual reminder that not everyone has a place to sleep at night - or a place to put their PJ's.    Companies participating in PJ Day make a donation to Denver's Road Home.

Today our executive committee donned their "formal" PJ's and made pancakes for all of us in the employee cafeteria.    Footie pajamas are back!!!

In honor of PJ day, I wore my slippers and my Peruvian Party Pants at work.   I'm sure that I was just as competent, and much more comfortable, than my normal business attire.    What?  You don't have a pair of PPP's?   They tend to be brightly colored drawstring pants with a pocket on the side.   Of course, you buy them in a market, so you don't exactly get to try them on.   One of my PPP's never quite fit right.   But my pink party pants were rockin' today in the back halls. 

Incidentally, on this day in 2010 I was in Peru, the land of party pants, ceviche, sangria in a box and more Inca ruins than you can shake a llama at.     I've heard that Machu Picchu is also in Peru. 

I've only seen pictures.  Other people's pictures.    There were mudslides in Peru a few weeks before we went, so MP was closed.  

The actual process of getting to Cusco involved partying the night before, eating breakfast on a beach side terrace, an on and off road adventure driving from the beach back to Lima while praying we didn't miss our flight.   Our in-country flight that cost almost as much as our international flight from Denver to Lima.    Actually landing in Cusco was such a relief that we wanted to get out and explore.

 

And explore we did.

 

Tourist photo with a llama?  Check

Visiting the famous 12 sided rock?  Check

The Plaza at sunset?  Check
First pisco sour?  Check

 

And then there's emoliente.    It's a drink that's "good for you" made by street vendors.   Wikipedia doesn't even have a definition in English.  Only in Spanish. 

 

Here you go: 

Emoliente es una bebida utilizada con fines medicinales en Perú, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia y, en menor medida, el resto de Latinoamérica.  El emoliente es una bebida peruana tradicional que se prepara en base a granos tostados de cebada, extractos de hierbas medicinales, azúcar y jugo de limón. Es de bajo contenido nutricional, aunque puede aportar a la dieta algo de carbohidratos, minerales y vitamina C. Su mejor valor es el medicinal.

It's a medicinal drink in Peru and other countries made from barley, herbs, sugar and lemon juice.    I didn't ask questions.  I just drank it.    



 

 

 

Februarys Past

February 13, 2010 - Porto Fiel, Peru

 In the wee hours of the morning, after playing dice games on the deck of the beach house, the family was reunited when the final sister arrived from the States.  

 Porto Fiel sunset before we headed off to the airport to come back home.

February 13, 2009 - Ko Lanta, Thailand

My first Thai massage!

Delicious food at the Gong Grit restaurant

Ahh, the beach

Daybook (life is good)

(from the simple woman's daybook)

Outside my window...it's cold.  If I would have answered this on Saturday, it would have been the amazing sunset in Peru!

I am hearing...the Winter Olympics.  It's the one time where I'll have the tv on more often than not.

I have...a suntan!  I am the envy of my co-workers.

Pondering these words..."I'll shout it from the mountain top.  I want my world to know...." 

I am thankful for...winning Manager of the Year.  It's a great honor to know that your hard work is appreciated at that level.  The free vacation doesn't hurt either!

One year ago today...I was in  Thailand, so conveniently I have my travel journal to remind me.  "We slept in, went to the beach and had breakfast...just sad to leave beautiful Ko Lanta...Mama T made us cashew chicken.  I also took a 30 minute bike ride, vraving the bike / moped lane on the streets of Trang.  I got many honks, hellos and waves by kids and teenagers.  I'm sure a farang on a bike is a bit of a novelty."

I am reading...Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr.

One of my favorite things...travel!

I am going...to have to do my Spanish homework tomorrow.

Around the house...the Chey beast is exhausted after a week of playing with friends.

I am thinking...that I have no groceries and wondering how long until I cave and go to King Soopers.

A few plans for the rest of my week...work, class, dinner with friends and Olympics.

Photos for you from Cusco

What Makes the News

Prior to going to Peru, the news was that Machu Picchu was closed and that tourists were being airlifted out by helicopters.   However, in driving around the countryside outside of Cusco, you could see the real life implication of the heaviest rains in 20 years.  Mud brick houses destroyed.  Health department tents set up.  Service projects, like river clean up, had begun. 

Yesterday when visiting a friend, she said "you heard about what happened at the Olympics on Friday, right?"  I had no tv or internet access on Friday or Saturday, so had no idea about the athlete who was killed on the luge track.  What's news depends on where you are.

The Warm Welcome

There is nothing that says hospitality like a warm welcome.  Such as warm weather.  Hugs from a friends family.  Drinking sangria in the backseat of the car while tearing down the streets of Lima at 2 am.  Practicing Spanish and drinking Inca Kola while driving to the beach.  Getting to the beach (Porto Fiel....beautiful) by 4am and then celebrating on the patio until the sun comes up.

The beach house, like all good retreats, does not have wifi, so I could just enjoy and disconnect for a while.  Our hotel in Cusco, has an old computer with free internet (but no USB port to upload pictures) so all pictures will have to wait until I return to Denver.

A co-worker on Thursday asked if I would come back.  Like all good trips, I love them while I´m here and I`ll enjoy the memories when I get home.

Daybook (countdown to South America)

(from the simple woman's daybook)

Outside my window...it's night.  Can't wait until I the days get longer.

I am thinking...that Machu Picchu will still be closed when we get to Cusco next Sunday. 

I am thankful for... my co-worker returning from maternity leave today!

I am remembering...the "Game of Things" on Saturday night....so many things are more fun with 4!

I am going... to Continent 6 on Friday.

I am currently reading...How Coffee Saved My Life...and Other Stories of Stumbling to Grace by Ellie Roscher.  She writes about her experience as a young adult missionary in Uruguay.  It's a quick and fun read (especially finding out specifically how coffee saved her life).  Also very timely with our topic for the youth last night about the Great Commission.  Quote from the book "I believe that God loves me radically.  That love is liberating.  As a free North American with power and privilege, I can move into contact with my neighbor.  I can love God by loving my neighbor, and that neighbor does not need to live next door."

I am hoping...that training goes well on Wednesday and that I have no flight delays on Friday.

On my mind...last year, on the first Monday of February, I was preparing to depart the next day for a volunteer vacation in Thailand.  Hard to believe it was that long ago.  Definitely the right decision.  Is it ironic that one year later I'm getting ready for another trip and my suitcase is still not packed? 

Noticing that...my co-workers are really into the weight loss challenge.  It's going to be a great 3 months.

Pondering these words... "So here I am, all of me, Finally everything, Wholly, wholly, wholly..."
From the kitchen... nothing. I'm trying to get rid of my food this week. 

Around the house... a half packed suitcase.

One of my favorite things...preparing for vacation.

From my picture journal...my first day in Thailand, one year ago!

Plans

I have been thinking a lot about plans this week. I briefly contemplated a dramatic change in plans. A friend advised me to pray. And then I remembered a great Bible verse, one that was so helpful in college when you wonder what you're going to be when you grow up (although I still wonder that now).


Jeremiah 29:11-13

From The Message "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

From Today's NIV "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. "

From The New Living Translation "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me."

In the realm of plans, I am leaving for vacation in Peru next week. The top site in Peru? Machu Picchu. Thankfully God has "plans for good and not for disaster." This week it's disasterous for tourists because of mudslides (and other delightful things, like washed out train tracks and price gouging) that come from the heaviest rains in 20 years. It may turn out that our plans will have to change and MP will wait for my next visit. One of the friend's I am traveling with is Peruvian and he has promised to be my friend for the next 30 years, so I think it's probable I'll go back.

Continent Six

In early February, I am taking my first trip to South America.  It's the only continent I haven't visited (yes, I know there are 7 continents, but food and people are primary motivations when I travel, and penguins alone aren't enough of a draw, so I'm not giving Antarctica it's full due).   Some place had to be last.  Europe was first in 1986 (and a few times since), Africa in 1998/9 and 2006, Australia in 2007 and Asia in 2009.  No slight to all the fantastic people in SA, the opportunity had not presented itself before now.  And in the frenetic travel competition that I have with my mom and sister (I was the third to get to Asia), I will be the first to get a South American stamp in my passport.   

I'm excited to see one of the main attractions in Peru, which is Machu Picchu.  Although we are going in the rainy season and there is a chance that there will be weather and my pictures will not look like the postcards....not the first time.  Case in point, Mt. Haleakala in Maui.  We were up at the top of the mountain for the famous sunrise.  The sun never rose (but the bike ride was fantastic). 

"Sunrise"

The vagaries of airfare never cease to amaze me.  Our tickets from Denver to Lima were very reasonable (only about $100 more than if I wanted the direct flight from Denver to the Quad City International Airport in Moline, IL).    The airfare for the one and a half hour flight from Lima to Cusco?  About $100 less than the flight to Lima.  Crazy. 

Last week we had family movie night at church watching the movie UP.   One of the funniest lines to me?

Little Ellie:  "When I get big, I'm going where he's going. South America. It's like America, but south."

VOLAR strikes back!

Towards the end of summer, I was pondering what the year would bring, specifically in regard to travel (always a pressing concern). VOLAR is the "voice of reason and logic." In Spanish, it's the verb "to fly."

I think I am abandoning listening to reason and instead looking to fly whenever possible. I had been casually talking with a Peruvian friend who was planning to go home to visit family in the spring. Casual conversation became a reality this week. Friend comes into my office and says, "The fares are a little over $500, tomorrow they could be $1000, you really should come, I'm buying my ticket tomorrow and so is another friend of ours."

When I asked my boss about taking vacation in February he said "4 months to you is in the blink of an eye."

Needless to say, in 4 months I will be on my way to Lima.

(more new things this week: my first time eating dim sum in the US at Superstar Asian, yum, playing games on Invesco field, and of course, buying a ticket to South America, which will be continent number 6!)