Scarlet Pimpernel, Thanksgiving Yoga, and the Christmas Tree

Douglas and Penny came to Costco with me last week.

Grandma Coombs babysat the kids on Tuesday so that Sam and I could attend this classic play.

Penny and Douglas at the Station Park fountain.

Station Park - "You want to take a picture of me?"

"Okay.  Cheeeeese!"

Sara giving a short yoga class to the kids after Thanksgiving dinner.

Namaste

 Justin, our fellow ward member and friend, took Douglas and me (with his SUV and trailer) to a tree farm so we could pick out a Christmas tree.

 Douglas and I took advantage of the first good snow storm of this winter.  We went to the "tunnel park" to play for a couple of hours.  Penny stayed home (sick) with Mom.  Douglas and I built this snowman to represent politicians (from the 1800s?).  The snowman is faceless, representing the fact that we do not know who the real power players are behind the politicians.  The snowman is armless, representing the fact that politicians don't do much.  Or . . . we simply built a snowman and didn't have anything available to make a face and arms. :)

 Our Christmas tree

 Douglas took this photo

 Merry Christmas!

Peru (Lima)

We took the train and bus back from Machu Picchu yesterday morning, dropped our stuff off at the hotel in Cusco, and then Doug and I went out for some shopping.  After shopping for a bit we stopped to get dinner.  I should mention that it rained for much of the morning, but stopped when we got on the train.  We had beautiful weather throughout our shopping.  It rained again while Doug and I ate dinner, but stopped just before we left the restaurant.  We did some more shopping, made it back to the hotel, and then it started raining heavily again.  My goodness!  The heavens are looking out for us.

 For dinner I ordered the baked guinea pig, which is a common dish around these parts.

 It tasted like chicken, or fish, or something familiar.  Not much meat on that thing.  Lots of bones.

Before our meals were brought out, the waiter brought out some bread, corn nuts (also a common snack here), and this cup of liquid.  I thought, "Oh, nice, some orange juice with my bread."  I put it to my lips, took a swig, and wow, that stuff was strong!  I asked the waiter what kind of juice it was and found out that it was "pisco sour," which is a Peruvian alcoholic cocktail (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco_sour).  I'm on a roll.  First I had that coca tea, now a bit of alcohol.  What next?!  A Peruvian tattoo?

Last night, once again, Doug and I did not sleep at all.  Could it be that the altitude of Cusco (11,000 feet) affected our sleep?  It didn't bother me a bit while I was hiking around, but when I tried to sleep I had a mild headache and a stomach ache the entire night.  This morning (in Cusco) at breakfast the only thing that sounded good to me was the Doogles breakfast:  a white-butter sandwich with strawberry liquid (Kefir) yoghurt.  I still have stomach issues here in Lima (sea level), so it can't be the altitude.  I need to get back to good old processed American food. :)

Doug, Clara, Miguel, Daniel

We flew back to Lima this morning, dropped our luggage at the hotel, and drove one hour across the city to the Lima Peru Temple.  We ate lunch at the cafeteria and then did some initiatory work.  Lima was temple #99 for me.  One more to go!

Jose, Doug, Miguel, Clara

Miguel and Clara

Skinny bald gringo

Ever seen this before?  Think Dallas Temple, Boise Temple, Chicago Temple.

Doug, Miguel, Clara, Tina (Miguel's aunt), Jose, Andres (Miguel's uncle), and Carmela (Miguel's mother)

This afternoon/evening we spent some time chatting with some of Miguel's relatives.  It was a fitting finale to our fabulous Peru trip.  A huge THANK YOU to Miguel and Clara, and their friends and family members, who made this a memorable experience for us.  You are wonderful people.

And last, but not lest, a photo of Penny.  How many children WANT to use a snot sucker?  Penny likes using it on herself.  Funny girl.

Peru (Machu Picchu)

 Last night was horrible.  We ate a delicious meal in Cusco, but something didn't sit right with my stomach.  I ended up with stomach problems all night and didn't sleep for one minute.  We had to be out the door at 4:00am to take a two-hour bus ride to a train station, and then we took a 90-minute train ride (on the Machu Picchu Train) to the Machu Picchu area.  

Lots of beautiful vistas riding through the mountains.

 In front of the Inkaterra Hotel.  Miguel's son, Miguel Jr., who works at the Inkaterra Hotel, got us a great deal for our one night here.  He reserved the best two rooms at the hotel, which normally cost $1000 (each!) per night, for a total of $500.  

Inkaterra Hotel

I used the hot tub before and after our Machu Picchu experience, but I only asked Doug to take a before photo.  I went in the nude tonight. :)

It's much wetter in Machu Picchu, which means bigger bugs.  Check out the size of that mosquito!

 There it is, one of the wonders of the world.

Miguel and Clara, returning to Machu Picchu after more than 30 years (since their honeymoon).

Miguel Jr., Miguel, Clara, and Jose

I've never had much patience with guides and all the talking they do, so I left the group for a couple of hours to hike up to La Puerta del Sol (Sun Gate), which sits at about 9,000 feet.

Looking out over Machu Picchu

These funny creatures were all over the ancient site.

 Miguel showing off some of his karate moves.

 Doug and I unfurled the banner of the Lord's university over Machu Picchu.  The site is now blessed.

Even after hours of hiking, Doug still had enough energy for one more smile.

Update on Thursday, 15 November:  Lots of rain today.  We have been so blessed with good weather throughout our trip.  Today would not have been good for hiking around Machu Picchu.