Uncategorized

Our first day on Easter Island was – as one of my fellow travelers said – fluid.

We awoke to a storm with very high winds and lots and lots of rain.  The tour director flipped our schedule since the second day schedule had some indoor activities.  Bob ended up working out in the morning and I joined a tour to Aka Hanga a dramatic coastal site of an unrestored village and Moai site.  Because of the rain there are not many photos.  After that we had a guided tour of the anthropological museum.

Bob went in the afternoon to Orongo crater. Photos to follow when I get his camera 😀

In the evening we had talks by 3 of the original archeologists who have done most of the restorations on Easter Island, Edmundo Edwards, Claudio Cristino and Patricia Vargas.  This was followed by a performance by the Kari Kari Rapa Nui dance group.

Bob was picked to dance with them.  There is a video, but I can’t download from my camera.  This may have to be an update when we get home.

Fitbit – 5837 steps, 2.76 miles and 9 floors.

We were so busy when we arrived in Cusco that I am just now getting around to telling about our time there.  Our first stop was at Sacsayhuamam archaeological site.  We toured and saw some excellent examples of Incan architecture.

After lunch at the hotel, we toured Korikancha, the Cathedral (no photos allowed and no post cards sold) and the central plaza.

We had a short rest – altitude – and then a tour of the Museo donArte Pre-Colombino and a weaving exhibition of local artisans.

Back to the hotel for dinner and an early turn in for our day to Machu Picchu.

Here are some additional photos from our time at Machu Picchu.  Somehow the technology did not work this morning 😕 

WOW!

Today (Monday) we traveled to Machu Picchu.  We took the very lush Hiram Bingham train from Cusco to Alta Caliente ( not certain if that is the correct name).  We were met at the rail station with champagne and pisco sours me simians and dancers.

Brunch was served on the train and then we arrived at Machu Picchu.  

Bob got to do the big hike up to the sun gate.  It was about 3,000 feet above the Machu Picchu main site.  He then toured the main area after hiking down.

Bette did the “regular” tour.  According to my Fitbit I climbed 168 flights of stairs, walked 4.25 miles and took 8,968 steps.  We learned a great deal about the Inca’s and how they lived.  

In the town of Cusco there are a great many Inca remains and they use them for the foundations of their current buildings.

We had dinner on the train ride back to Cusco.

We left Washington, DC early on Saturday morning bound for Lima, Peru.  Upon getting on the private jet we were offered champagne and caviar.  A perfect start!

  
The flight was 7.5 hours and immediately upon arrival we started touring.  We went to the Museo Raphael Larco Herrero.  Sr. Herrero had a wonderful collection of Incan and pre-Incan artifacts.  The building was also beautiful. 

   
   
Bob and I at the entrance to the museum.

We then went to the hotel for dinner and an early night because we once again had an early morning start.

2,982 steps, 1.41 miles according to my Fitbit.

After a very early morning start, we arrived in Washington, DC in a rain storm.  We checked in with the Expedition group and then went to the National Geographic headquarters for a briefing and cocktail reception.  Dinner back at the hotel, the Hay Adams.  Big suitcases out by 10 PM and rollaboards in the lobby by 6 AM – this is NOT a vacation.

Tomorrow we leave at 9:30 AM for Lima, Peru.

   
   
Top photo  in the lobby at National Geographic headquarters.

2nd was the view from our dinner.

And the last one, some guy who was saying Go Ave Maria women’s basketball.

We are now down to a month before we leave on our adventure. Have held myself back from starting to pull out clothes until now. Will do some selecting over the long Labor Day weekend and then will begin to make some hard decisions.

Our final documents and bags should be here in the next 10 days. We have new “light” suitcases. Hopefully this will allow us the ability to bring some extra shoes and the other things we think we will absolutely need.

This is Bette’s new case.  Bob’s is basic black!

it is now only two months until we leave.  Have started accumulating items that we will need for the trip.  We will be using Michael’s room as a staging area.

We have already filled the prescriptions we need for altitude sickness and malaria.  Bob has finished his shots – for a while he had a doctors appointment every week.

On my sleepless nights I mentally pack and repack my suitcase.  Not exactly sure what I will actually take but have sorted my options many times.

My new camera will get a good test in 2 weeks when we visit the family for a long weekend.  I have been reading the instruction manual, but need to practice in real life.

Last August, we decided it was time to do the big trip on my (Bette) bucket list.  It is the National Geographic Around the World by Private Jet journey.  We had talked about doing this trip before we got too old, and now is the time!

We have made our final payment, have worked on getting the proper inoculations, have secured an assistant coach for Bob’s team for the time we will be away and have started to find some wash and wear clothing items.

We are about 100 days from the start of our trip and we are beginning to get very excited.

We are hoping to blog at each location we travel to and hope that you will be interested in keeping up with us as we See the World!