Peruvian Rambling - April, 2004

..............after the Galapagos

Monday, April 26, 2004
After a really bad night’s sleep – headache and wakefulness – we struggled out of bed about 6:30 so we could see a bit of the city. We had a leisurely breakfast meeting Martin and Chris and all four of us taxied into old town ($3 total). It was pouring rain but we visited a couple of churches/cathedrals and plazas anyway. Taxied back to the artisan market with the idea of finding Panama hats – great success, we each bought a Montecristi, snobbishly known to be the finest and tightest weave of palm fibre. A brightly coloured tablecloth caught my eye – red, purple, orange, green, etc. – so I bought it too. The prices are amazingly cheap which makes it hard to resist. We stopped at a coffee bar before returning to the hotel to drop off our packages and met again 10 minutes later walking over to the Mongolie Grill for lunch.

A van picked us up from the hotel at 2:30 - $2/each to get to the airport for our 5:15 flight to Lima. I do hate this living out of suitcases and flight after flight. We said our goodbyes to Martin and Chris, Crystal and Andy, Gary and Tonya who were all on their way to Lake Titicaca before they tackled the Inca Trail. We hadn’t been in Lima more than an hour or two when I developed a deep cough, probably a result of the murky smog suffocating the city. The Hotel Colonial Inn is in Miraflores, a fairly upscale neighbourhood but a long drive from the airport. We took a shuttle bus and arrived at the hotel about 9:00pm. The hotel was decorated in Spanish Colonial style – dark, heavy woods and the overuse of gold. We asked for a change from our first room as it was so claustrophobic; a small window overlooked another room about three feet away. The second room was better; large windows overlooking the street and even though the traffic was noisy, I slept like a baby.

Tuesday, Apr 27, 2004
We met the rest of the Inca Trail group; an international bunch.
· Sue and Jen (in their early 30's) from Toronto – they were with us in the Galapagos
· Kay from England (31) – with us in the Galapagos
· Fernando – the guy I couldn’t stand in the Galapagos
· Josie from Johannesburg, S. Africa – 19 years old; she says she’s a university student but she’s more likely a stripper or prostitute. She was very aloof with the other young people while quite friendly with me. She borrowed money from the Danish kids and didn’t repay it. She picked up several young men along the way. She weighed about 90lbs and smoked incessantly. She shared a room with Kay and Kay had nothing but a bad attitude from her. And she told lies constantly.
· 2 girls from Stockholm, Sweden – 22 and 23 years old, very nice and pretty girls
· 1 girl Mikaila 18 and two boys 19 and 20 from Denmark – They are traveling for five months between university semesters. Nice kids.
· Susan from Adelaide, Australia – 55 years old, sportswoman, tough as nails as only Aussies can be but entertaining in a coarse way.
· Samantha from Houston but she’s English and makes sure you know she is. She was fairly tall and very skinny, with bulbous eyes and a nervous manner. She had two children and didn’t have custody of them. She’s 37 but looked 10 years older.
We were picked up by a van at 7:00am for our 9:00am flight to Cuzco; small plane, TANS Airline; had a great window view on the left side coming in to Cuzco and what a beautiful sight – the terraced mountains, the patchwork quilt of the fields, the red tile roofs and everything so green. Cuzco has about 350,000 inhabitants. Jaime (pronounced Himay) the GAP guide picked us up from the airport. He spoke English very clearly and imparted a lot of info during the ride to the Prisma Hotel, which is four blocks from the Plaza de Armas. At the hotel, we all sat at a table and the itineraries were gone over and paperwork was completed. With such a young group, I was so happy we were not going to tackle the Inca Trail. The description that Jaime gave of it was daunting.

After settling in to our room, we strolled to the Plaza de Armas; what a striking square! Two large cathedrals (one Jesuit) flanked by the Andes mountains, colonial buildings surrounding the plaza, most with upstairs balconies converted to restaurants. In the center, grass and flowers, which were tended with care, benches to rest and soak up the atmosphere and a lovely fountain, near where an occasional person would deliver an impulsive oration. Women and children in Andean dress would stroll through; the women with strange top hats, big wooly leggings, and full skirts in the colours of the rainbow; the children with big smiles and bare feet.

Fernie was feeling some altitude sickness at this point – a bit woozy – so he wanted to have lunch. Flor, a charming Quechua woman, talked us into following her to The Andean Restaurant, where we sat in an overhanging balcony window with the most perfect view of the Plaza. We were welcomed profusely by Juan and were brought ‘coca sours’ (much like the Ecuadorian Caipirinas made with cane sugar liqueur) and a basket of deliciously pungent garlic bread, on the house. I had chicken in an Andean berry sauce with vegetables and potato, the chicken done very crispy but very tasty. Fernie was by now feeling awful but ordered kingfish for lunch hoping it would help him feel better. But he couldn’t eat it when it came, afraid he was about to faint. We ordered a pot of coca tea, which is supposed to alleviate altitude sickness, but he didn’t feel any better. He was half off his chair in a faint when Juan, the kindly proprietor quickly brought over some fresh coca leaves and a bottle of something with a red cross on it. He crushed the coca leaves by rolling them between his fingers, put some of the liquid into the leaves and held the resulting glop up to Fernie’s nose for him to inhale it. It acted like smelling salts and brought him around. Juan then rubbed the mixture into Fernie’s temples, forehead and massaged it into his head; how extremely kind. We definitely decided we’d go there for dinner when Fernie is acclimatized. I paid the 50NS bill ($15US) and walked Fernie out to the Plaza, where we sat on a bench. While sitting in the square, I accidentally caught an Andean woman and her children in my video shot. They approached me and I felt it only polite to give them some change. I gave each child a 2NS coin and they beamed and chattered at me. I also gave their mother some coins and she thanked me profusely. We slowly walked the four blocks back to the hotel I dug out the prescription drug for altitude sickness that we’d brought along and Fernie took one and went to bed for a few hours. I went out alone and walked a long way, through the cobblestone streets, past churches and old Spanish colonial buildings built on top of Inca foundations. On many of the buildings, the bottom six feet of stonework is obviously Inca. Many locals approached me selling gloves, finger puppets, postcards, etc. A polite ‘no gracias’ usually sufficed. However, one young boy, Arturo, about 10 years old pursued me relentlessly but after he engaged me in conversation, he seemed satisfied even though I didn’t buy from him. After a couple of hours, I went back to the hotel and Fernie was feeling somewhat better. He came out with me to the local supermarket and we bought snacks for dinner – bananas, oranges, sweet potato and banana chips and chocolate covered wafers washed down with San Antonia water. We reorganized our luggage as we’d leave one at the hotel for our trip through the Sacred Valley the next day and took a bag of dirty clothes to be laundered 3NS/kg ($.90).

Wednesday, April 28, 2004
A bus driven by Wilfredo picked us up at 8:30am to do the Sacred Valley tour to Ollantaytambo. We lucked into acquiring the front seat, which gave us a wonderful 180-degree view. It was amazing climbing out of the Cuzco valley – hairpin after hairpin until we reached 4,200 metres (Cuzco is at 3,400m- 11,000ft). Women in their native dress walked the road with heavy bundles on their backs, using the most colourful wraps to enclose their possessions. Sometimes, it was a baby whose head poked out the top of the wrap; the women with their bowler hats and long lustrous hair often worn in a single braid.

We passed an Inca site, Sacsayhuaman, perched at the top of the mountain overlooking the beautiful Cuzco valley. Alpaca, which are similar to llamas but smaller and appeared to have ‘dreadlocks’, were often seen with families tending their crops beside the road. At a roadside stop, Fernie picked up a baby alpaca, which looked like a little goat. As we passed through the tiny villages, we noticed farm animals being taken out to pasture, after having been penned overnight. Whole families would accompany their flock on the long uphill walk and there was always the same pecking order with the animals; first would come the cattle, then sheep and goats and the pigs were always at the back. One doesn’t feel guilty about eating meat in this part of Peru because of the quality of life their animals have. There are many dogs that appear to be wild but they belong to families who let them out each day to forage. They must do fairly well because they look well fed. These dogs would also assist in herding the flocks. Sometimes, we’d see an apparently purebred dog – a Pomeranian, a King Charles spaniel, a Pekingese, a husky – not that the breeds will stay pure, as they roam around freely.

We drove through the modern town of Pisac and up the mountain 250M higher to the old Inca town of Pisac. What an amazing culture to have built such fortresses and towns so precipitously. The mountains were terraced in every available area, sometimes to the top, much as the Incas did 600 years ago. The bus took us up quite high but we still had to climb quite a bit. We found ourselves so out of breath because of the altitude – or maybe we are out of shape. The paths were so narrow with steep cliffs beside the pathways, we had to walk very slowly and carefully and the narrow steps were cut into the steep incline, almost giving us vertigo when looking down. We walked for about an hour stopping every so often for Jaime to explain the locale. It gave us a chance to catch our breath. Fernie is fine today, fully acclimatized to the altitude but thank goodness we’re not going to do the four day 45km Inca Trail trek.

We drove down to the new town and shopped in the market where we bought ponchos and shawls. The women of the Pisac / Urubumba Valley area wear different head attire than the Cuzco natives. Instead of the stovepipe hats, they wore colourful bowl-shaped or flat hats. We stopped for lunch at a café in Urubumba where they gave us a Pisco sour and a fava bean, corn kernel and salty cheese appetizer. The corn kernels were huge. I had ceviche made with kingfish, which is a local lake fish, with lime and pepper – delicious. Fernie had a corn soup and we both chose grilled trout for an entrée. It was crispy but delish!

We arrived at Ollantaytambo about 3:00pm and went immediately to the Inca site, which looked over the town. It was discouraging looking up the many steps to the top; they wound through the terraces and up so high I was afraid we wouldn’t make it – but we did although slowly. And what a view! On the mountain opposite, was carved a huge face of an Inca king complete with his crown…much like Mt. Rushmore. We gasped at the thought of the Incas carrying the immense boulders up the steep mountainsides – seemingly miraculous. We took great pleasure in conquering the climb. We drove across the quaint town to our hotel the “Ollantaytambo Lodge” – very basic, clean and had an unusual view – pigs, chickens, turkeys in the foreground, under the clotheslines full of colourful garments, with the immense Andes as a backdrop. We were welcomed in to the garden with big steaming pots of coca tea served to us while we sat in comfortable bamboo chairs. We all had dinner together at the lodge – chicken for me, steak for Fernie and cervezas to wash it down. The meat was very salty but it was ok, just needed more cervezas. We wished the trekkers well and we took a walk around town before bed hitting the pillows by 9:00pm. I read for a bit while dogs barked and fought outside - this continued most of the night

Thursday, April 29, 2004
The trekkers were up at 5:00am and on their way by 6. We, however, could sleep in – except for a far off rooster crowing at 4:30am. Our lodge rooster slept in and didn’t crow until 5:30. So, we eventually got up at 6:30. The lodge owner prepared us a little breakfast – overcooked scrambled egg and those little Peruvian flat breads with jam, fresh juice and tea. It did the trick.

Ollantaytambo is not a large town so we ambled around the streets but spent a lot of time in the plaza soaking up the atmosphere. The town has been built on top of original Inca foundations and individual homes were accessed from central courtyards. As we strolled into the town center, hundreds of school children in their school uniforms, briefcases and backpacks made their way noisily to their respective schools. In the early morning hours, buses arrived with trekkers and porters were gathered from the square. They carried tents, cooking utensils, food, etc. and those that carried the trekkers’ duffle bags handled three each – that’s 18kg (40lbs) and they would run with their burdens and arrive at the campsites 2 hours ahead of the trekkers. Trekkers were buying bamboo canes to aid their climb and the wandering vendors were aggressively into their sales mode. Traditional Ollantaytambo women wear their hair in two long braids joined together at the bottom and I don’t think that they’ve ever cut their hair. Their skirts are so full and wide and the women are so short (maybe 4’6” to 4’10”) that they look as wide as they are tall. Two wrinkled little old women appeared from a narrow alleyway on their way to market. They giggled and skipped like schoolgirls. Men with bicycle carts brought veg and fruit into the plaza for their women to sell. The women sat on the cobblestones spreading out their array of produce in front of them. Babies with dirty, smiling faces peered out of their mothers’ colourful backpacks, finding us as fascinating as we found them. Toddlers played barefoot near the fountain, while mothers sat in the shade beneath the large central tree. There were a few men dressed in bright ponchos with straw hats like overturned bowls – countrymen perhaps? Also, a few women in the Pisac style of dress gave further colour to this busy and noisy congregation.

Wandering down to the Inca ruins, we ran into a roadwork crew, using pickaxes and an old-fashioned cement mixer. We had to detour down a steep treacherous slope but had to wait our turn behind three men carrying a large bicycle cart and a young girl with a donkey. We didn’t climb the terraces this time but followed the stream up through shady glens and Inca ruins and grazing fields. We further pondered the amazing Inca culture. As we walked back through the town plaza, Wilfredo, our bus driver, stopped us and asked if we would come with him right away …it was 12:30…. instead of waiting until the arranged 1:45, as he had obtained four additional paying passengers. We happily obliged as we felt we had absorbed and experienced Ollantaytambo fully by now. So we checked out of the lodge and drove back to Cuzco in his van by a shorter but spectacularly scenic route.

We once again checked in to the Prisma Hotel in Cuzco, picked up our stored luggage and laundry and took a walk around the town. We paid to visit the Cathedral, which was not too exciting and did a little shopping buying an alpaca bag to store our ponchos. Had a nice lunch on the balcony at Ama-lur restaurant just off the Plaza; two glasses of wine for me and I was a happy woman. So happy and relaxed that we had to go back to the hotel for a siesta. It was hard to go out again after as we were so exhausted but we did and had dinner at the Pachacutec Grill right in the Plaza – trout and kingfish were both wonderful. But we were still tired so were in bed by 9:10pm.

Friday, April 30, 2004
We slept fitfully – there was a whistle blowing nearby; who knows who or why. I also woke several times very short of breath, probably altitude related. Finally arose about 6:00am and slowly got ready to go. A light breakfast (fruit, juice and tea) at the hotel and off we went. No cameras or bags and all money and credit cards well-hidden in our multiple money belts because we were headed for the infamous ‘Indian Market’, where pickpockets prevail. The area surrounding Le Mercado was teeming with locals, so much so that we fought not to be pushed under the automobiles squeezing through. Everything imaginable was for sale – bicycle chains, ropes, plumbing, clothing, school supplies, etc. and the hubbub was deafening. It was a relief to actually enter the large market building – calm and quiet in comparison, the women tended their produce stands while the men tended the butchering. Spread-eagled carcasses of maybe alpaca or goat or sheep lay surprisingly free of flies. The ever-present dogs never jumped to grab but patiently waited for bones and scraps to be offered to them.

San Francisco church and the adjacent military school came into view as we made our way out of the melee. We sat in the plaza and watched the work crew and the ‘aqua’ trucks clean the cathedral steps, road and plaza. Far too many men were doing the job redundantly – maybe a make-work project. A block further along, we walked through another smaller plaza where an all-women work crew worked cleaning the plaza under the supervision of an imposing male boss. We sat a while and were surprised by a tiny wrinkled old woman who shook our hands and kissed us on both cheeks and chattered that I was ‘bonito’ (beautiful). She even guessed, amazingly, that we were Canadian. She was so charming that I couldn’t help myself and I gave her 5NS – generous for me, and she was delighted. What a fine ambassador for her city.

We finally reached the Inca Museum and delighted in the study and display of artifacts from the Inca civilization. Part way through, in a quiet area, a uniformed guard tried to coerce a ‘donation’ from us; it was obviously a ploy to put money into his own pocket. ‘No habla Espanol’ comes in handy sometimes – after all, we had paid our admission. There were also so-called guides who expected remuneration who tried to convince us they were necessary; not so, the exhibits had English translations. A couple of hours sufficed to see the exhibits and watch the demonstrations of spinning, weaving and home building.

The San Blas Church area is not too far north and it’s filled with delightful hostals and cafes. I think we might stay in that area should we return. We stopped for a snack, coffee and tea at a little café, The Muse, run by a young Australian woman. F had one of the best café mochas ever – better than Starbucks, he said. It was made with Peruvian coffee grown in the northerly Amazon jungle area. We strolled through the quiet San Blas market wondering if they ever sold any vegetables or fruit. We found that prices of souvenirs and other Peruvian products were no more expensive in the nicer shops and markets than from the street vendors in spite of some hard bargaining, so did a little more shopping in the Cathedral area. F couldn’t resist a lovely teapot, even though I warned him that he would have to hand-carry it home. I couldn’t resist some of the Alpaca knitwear and so, loaded down, we returned to our hotel with our purchases. We thought it expedient to repack our luggage ready for our return home in a few days and just kept what we needed in the smaller suitcase. That left us free for the rest of the day, so we took a taxi up to Sacsayhuaman – only 6NS – less than $2 – what a bargain. We intended to walk back as it was all downhill. There is an immense white statue of Christ adjacent to the ruins, very similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. The view of Cuzco in the valley below is breathtaking. Clambering around the ruins, marveling at the huge boulders that formed the base of the fortress, left us breathless – it’s very high. We found the path back down to town and descended in only 15 minutes, a fascinating walk following a ravine and with views over the red tile roofs. Our calf muscles are building with all the ups and downs.

We decided to make a reservation for dinner at the Andean Grill because of the kindness of Juan when F was so ill on our first day; we made if for 6:00pm and went for a walk. As we crossed in front of the cathedral, who should we see approaching us but our old Galapagos pals, Martin and Chris, Andy and Crystal, Gary and Tonya. We never expected to see them again on this trip, but how wonderful. We exchanged hugs and chatted for a moment until their guide hurried them along. The amazing coincidence was not over however. We showed up for our reservation at 6:00 and who should be at the long table beside us, but them and their new companions – 11 in all. Fate it must be. We compared notes and proceeded to enjoy our dinners. Our table was in the balcony window, allowing us a close-up of all the activity in the Plaza. I took the plunge and chose (guiltily) the local favourite, cuy - guinea pig. Imagine my surprise and further guilt when it was presented whole and intact on the plate, head, beady eyes and all, looking very much like a rat. I found it to be nothing but skin and bones with a rancid flavour, not at all like rabbit as I expected. F had alpaca filet, better than the cuy but with a wild taste. We washed it all down with coca sours, wine, cervezas and a big pot of coca te. I think this coca tea is addictive. I found out later that the average "decocainized" tea-bag contains 5 milligrams of cocaine, so how much is in the fresh leaves? We thanked Juan again for his care of F when he was ill, said our sad goodbyes to our old group and headed back to the hotel. We were back in our room at 8:15. Tea in our room and a great day came to an end. Lights out at 10:30.

Saturday, May 1, 2004
Wake-up call at 4:45am. Had a horrible night – the guinea pig gave us both gastric distress and I didn’t sleep a wink. Thank goodness I packed Maalox and Pepto. It was divine retribution; I should have listened to my conscience when I felt guilt for eating a pet. Mauro, our new temporary guide and Wilfredo the driver picked us up in the van. Another couple, Tony and Nicky from Shropshire, UK, joined us. The station is only about three blocks from the hotel but it was a madhouse getting there. The train to Aguas Caliente takes four hours. As it leaves Cuzco, it does a zigzag up the hill, backwards and forwards, many times until it reaches the top. This morning, Cuzco was smoggy so not as scenic as yesterday. I snoozed off and on but stayed awake as we entered the jungle; the Urubumba River roared through the ravines as the train sat precariously on the edge. As we entered Aguas Caliente, we saw the huge boulders from the massive landslide of three weeks previous. The railroad line was sliced and several people were killed as a tremendous mudslide roared down through the narrow ravine that forms the backbone of Aguas Caliente. I won’t be surprised if one day in the future we hear that a massive slide smothers the entire town; I don’t think a town should ever have been built there. For now, they’ve repaired a siding and this is where the trains come in. The main line is unusable so the modern station sits unused.

Aguas Caliente is built in a narrow ravine with hostals, shops and restaurants built up a steep hill. Our hotel, the Quilla, was a steep hike up to almost the top of the town. Our room #24 on the 3rd floor was very clean, and looked over the jungle and mountains with laundry being done in the back yard below. Outside our door was a large covered roof-top balcony with tables and chairs and a big comfy couch. It was charming. Being exhausted, I immediately caught a ½ hour nap and then we joined the others for lunch down by the tracks. My stomach was still not stable so I had an avocado appetizer and te pure. F & I left the others and strolled along the river and up to the landslide and to the market. Still tired, we went back to our room for another siesta – 1-½ hours this time. But then F dragged me out and we went back to the market for t-shirts and alpaca sweaters for our grandchildren. Gotta stop this shopping – but everything’s so cheap! About 6:30 we decided we could tackle pizza so ventured out; there are dozens of pizza restaurants in town with big open fires and pizza ovens – enchanting. Mauro invited us to join him and the other couple for dinner, so we walked down to a cheerful pizza restaurant with them. We sat by a big fire and an Andean trio played and we had pizzas. I was unable to finish my 2nd glass of wine (that’s unprecedented) as exhaustion overtook me, so I said goodnight leaving F to settle up the bill with them. I trudged up the long steep slope to our hotel breathlessly and then up the three flights of stairs. I threw on my pj’s and collapsed into bed falling asleep instantly. F came in 10 minutes later but I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I had the best sleep of the whole trip. However, in the middle of the night I awoke to a torrential downpour and had visions of a mudslide wiping out the whole town – I am sure it will happen someday with its precarious location.

Sunday, May 2, 2004
I awoke refreshed at 5:00am ready to tackle Machu Picchu. We caught the 6:10 bus up the mountain reaching the base at 6:30. It’s a bit of a climb and we were in the clouds, so when we reached the place where the first vista should have awed us, all we saw was cloud. We continued to the very top and waited for the sun to burn off the mist while Mauro gave us some Inca history. Every so often, a mountain peak would appear and we’d see a bit of the ruins but then the clouds would close in again. Suddenly from the direction of the Sun Gate which is the end of the Inca Trail, came some of our group waving madly at us. We went to greet them to find out how the trail had been. The first were the Danish kids (18,19,20) then the Swedish girls (22 & 23) and that nasty little S African, Josie (19), Jen and Kay (31 & 32) were next then the stragglers - Sue (33) looking so thin, tired and haggard she was barely able to move. A few minutes later, Susan (55) and finally Samantha (37) appeared looking awful. Who knows what happened to Fernando (35) – he was probably first but he would never acknowledge us. The tales poured out of them; it sounded brutal. So many were ill, some with diarrhea and vomiting and some with a respiratory virus and some just exhausted and dehydrated. Susan from Adelaide with uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea soiled herself while walking and had to discard her clothes; Samantha, skinny and emaciated, was carried by a porter for most of the third day. 10 out of 12 of them were ill. The younger ones sailed through in spite of the illness, but they all admitted it was very difficult and exhausting. THANK GOODNESS, WE DIDN’T TACKLE IT!

As we chatted, suddenly the clouds opened to the most amazing sight – Machu Picchu unfolded. It is so vast and intricate that no photos have ever been able to portray its immense impact. We said goodbye to Mauro and Nicky and Tony and happily rejoined Jaime and the original group. Jaime, and Jorge in the rear, took us on a tour of the site; we climbed up and down and up again, wondering why the Incas left such a remarkable and hidden site. We had a couple of hours on our own and then took the bus back to Aguas Caliente and met everyone for lunch at Pachumamas. F went up the hill to pick up our luggage from the hotel and Jorge chased behind him insisting on carrying it back down. What a nice man. We had to hang around until the train at 4:00pm and just looked at the marketplace and sauntered about. We were given the option of the train to Ollantaytambo and then bus to Cuzco saving 1-½ hours for $5/each additional. We jumped at it. Across from us on the train were two young men, both from the UK who met up a week ago and are traveling together for a while. We chatted so much that the 1 ½ hour journey to Ollantaytambo flew by. Wilfredo, the bus driver, was waiting for us all in the big bus and we quickly got to Cuzco by 7:15.

We walked into the Plaza de Armas and had dinner at Mama Amerika’s; the streets were quiet because of the ‘Festival of the Cross’ – the cross on the hillside was lit up. Had an early night.

Monday, May 3, 2004
Couldn’t sleep past 6:30am so got up lazily. Had to finish packing, had a little breakfast and took a taxi to the airport at 10:00am for our 12:50 flight. Sue from Toronto and Kay from London took the same flight so we had coffee/tea with them at the airport and chatted. Such nice young women. The flight to Lima is only one hour, so we arrived by 2:00. As our flight home didn’t leave until May 4 at 1:30am, we took a cab to Kay’s hotel, The Colonial Inn, and stored our luggage in her room. We tried to get a city tour but it was too late and so attempted to get a taxi to drive us around for a couple of hours but there was a general strike happening in the centre of the city, so it wasn’t possible. Instead, we walked through Miraflores down to the ocean where we had drinks and a snack. It got dark so we took a cab back to the hotel. Susan from Adelaide was in the bar when we got there. The other two girls continued to have five or six caipirinas and Sue got quite drunk. F & I managed to buy some cane sugar liquor at a local supermarket so we can make caipirinas at home. At 9:15, we decided to leave for the airport but Sue said she’d go later. We got there at 9:45 and it took an hour to clear all security and by the time we stopped for a sandwich and tea, it was midnight and the plane was leaving at 1:30am.

Tuesday, May 4, 2004
We flew home, changing planes at Dallas and arrived at 12:30pm. The immigration line in Vancouver was long, as usual and took us 45 minutes to get through. Tired and dirty - home was inviting.

Holiday over, but the memories remain. It was a wonderful journey!