Okay, if you know Spanish (like Arn does), then you'll know I'm missing the accent on the "a" in "dia". While Arn has told me I'm missing the accent, I'm not going to interrupt the network administrator to set up the icon that allows me to enhance my keyboard to add accents.
We enjoyed a great weekend in Los Angeles. We stayed with our friends, Doug and Marjorie. Despite Doug's Friday afternoon return from Brussels, we enjoyed several great meals together and watched the Christmas Boat Parade in Marina del Rey. Doug & Marjorie introduced us to a tv show called, "Arrested Development" and we loved it. Marjorie spoiled us with homemade borscht soup, brownines, and lots of brittle and toffee. We were also able to catch up with our friends, Mark & Katie, Sheila and Susan. So, it was a fantastic send off. And Marjorie -- thanks for packing the brownies for us. With one exception, they were all devoured before bedtime last night.
Marjorie seemed very impressed that we were traveling as "light" as we are given the duration of our trip and the massive gear load (white water kayaking stuff, mountain biking stuff, hiking stuff, snorkeling stuff). We feel like we are hauling the biggest bags in our traveling history. Once we arrived at LAX airport yesterday, we realized that we are traveling extremely light! In fact, we talked with one family of 5 and they checked 23 bags!! How big? Both of our checked pieces would have fit into one of their duffle bags. Our flight to Lima continued south to Santiago. We met many people on our flight that were headed to Santiago and then to Antarctica. They were traveling with the company that lost their boat in Antarctic last year after they hit ice. As we discussed this with one woman, Arn mentioned a boat that hit ice just recently and had to evacuate people --- this was the same boat that out ran Somalian pirates a few weeks earlier. Now, that is one adventure we would pass up on.
We arrived very late into Lima. We are staying at a stunning hotel called, "Miraflores Park Hotel". Thanks to a bathroom full of everything Kohler, we are enjoying the best shower we have ever known. The closest competitor would be the shower in Sara & Brian's house in Santa Cruz. We are guessing that it is Kohler too. We thought we'd put in a plug for Kohler as Deborah's brother works at Kohler and business is slow. Think killer new shower for Christmas.
We enjoyed a nice Italian lunch today. Knowing how motivated we are by food, we walked around to shop our restaurant choices for dinner. We also checked out the local shopping mall. Arn called it "Gringo Landia". You get the idea. In addition to the usual Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut in the food court, there is a Hooters. Really, did this need to be exported? The setting in Miraflores is very beautiful. We are perched above the cliffs overlooking the ocean. There are many, many high rise condos around us and a few other hotels. We've noticed that people seem to hire private security guards to watch over their residences. This is in addition to barbed wired and electric fences. We've even noticed "leashes" on the chairs in restaurants. These are for securing your purse while dining. Everyone has been very friendly and Arn's Spanish "es muy bueno".
We are resorting our bags a bit before we head to the jungle and Amazon River tomorrow. We are touring Lima in the morning and heading back to the airport mid-day. We'll be off line until the weekend when we return to Lima.
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