no colds but lots of gold!

Okay, sorry for the 6 days of no new news, yes Tracy, Hank is still alive! We spent quite a few days just laying low at the hostel in Huanchaco letting Hank and the Canadians recover from whatever bug they had. They were even kind enough to share it with Olaf, the German from L.A.

Once everyone had regained their strength and readiness to get out of the rooftop lanai hammock, we took a 3 1/2 hour bus ride north to Chiclayo, which is where I write to you from. Chiclayo is Peru's 4th largest city. We visited a beautiful yellow cathedral and stumbled upon some sort of religious ceremony through the street in front of the cathedral. Nuns, people in robes, veiled ladies with holy incense, a marching band, women carrying some huge shrine to baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, priests, and the whole town were involved in this ceremony. We still don't know what is was for on a Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 10 A.M. but it was an incredible sight of devotion.

We went to several museums yesterday that were utterly impressive. One of which, held the archeological findings from the King of Sipan's tomb. I will never in my lifetime own as much gold as this museum held from this tomb. The intricacy and craftsmanship of these pieces has left us still in awe. We were unable to take pictures from this particular exhibit but the pictures shown are from the other museum to help give an idea of what we have seen. It is incredibly hard to describe the sheer wealth and ability of these people from approximately 1800 years ago. This tomb was discovered in 1987 along with other ruins around Peru. I will never again be able to look at a sand hill and wonder what's hiding below.

After the museums we went to Mercado Modelo which became known as a marketplace for witchery. Supposedly, there are calf brains and goats hooves you can purchase at this market along with many other exotic remedies. However, we couldn't find that part of this enormous market. Mostly, we saw raw meat covered in flies (for sale, mind you), fruit, herbs, and everything right down to the kitchen sink.

The Canadians have left us to head north continuing to follow the surf and we are currently waiting for a bus to head south. We have 19 hours of bus rides ahead of us. Heading towards Pisco to check some national parks out and hopefully a distillery of pisco, the brandy like drink that is very popular here.

Hope you enjoy the pics!

xoxo Hank and Daisy

Ruins and feeling ruined

Hola,

Yesterday we had an amazing day of ruins. We toured a temple that is 11 square miles made from adobe from 100-800 A.D. It's truly an amazing piece of architecture! We also toured a pyramid (Huaca de la Luna) currently under excavation where in the last two years they have discovered art and new rooms to this temple. There is another temple next to it that has yet to begin being excavated but was occupied three hundred years longer than the one we toured. Definitely a place worth looking into in ten years!

Today our two Canadian friends, whom we've been traveling with since the Mexico City airport, and Hank woke with upset stomachs. Fortunately, we had a lazy beach day planned but that too was rained out. So, we sit in our cozy hostel, Casa Suiza, and enjoy tea, movies and leisurely naps. Just what they needed!

The pictures are from the ruins where we saw art from ~100 A.D., Hank at a temple from roughly the same time and a Peruvian hairless dog. These dogs were almost extinct but have become under state protection and are now the mascots of any ruin visited. This one is particularly punk rock!

Stomachs permitting, we will head north tomorrow and hope to have more details and pics to follow.

Love to all and already missing you and Huevos Rancheros!

xoxo, Hank and Daisy

Huanchaco

Howdy from a sweet surf town,

We left Lima on an overnight bus that brought us to this sleepy little surf and fishing village. We have spent our days here enjoying having so much travel time that we are afforded a leisurely beach day. Although still a bit cold, we got some beach time in and watched the surfers as well as the fishermen work the sea.

Hank and I are still enjoying the company of our new Canadian friends and plan to continue to travel north with them. The four of us are staying at La Casa Suize hostel which is such a find. If ever you need to flee the U.S., might I recommend this hostel and village to escape to?

We are quickly learning much about traveling around South America and have been subject to many "stupid tourist" moments but are enjoying the lessons. We barely made our bus because of a confusion in ticket purchases. Thanks to many locals who have been less than helpful, they have helped provide the "adventure." And many more thanks to the ones who have been patient enough to help us, like our cab driver that drove like a maniac from the bus station to get our money back for wrong tickets and then like a maniac back to the bus where we made our bus within minutes of its departure, these locals have been our heros.

Tomorrow we plan to have a lazy beach day and if we are brave enough to bare the cold water, we will surf. Other upcoming plans include visiting more ruins in Huanchaco, heading north to see the world's longest left break, inland to the Amazon and then South. Very South.

Love to all and look forward to seeing you.

H&D

Enjoying Lima

Hola!

Hank and I are alive and well in Lima. We had a very long journey to get here but it was completely worth it.

After 25 hours of travel, we arrived in Lima on Friday morning at 6 A.M. We got to our hostel and finally got a good night (or day)'s rest. Waking up in the late after noon, we were so excited to begin exploring. Down the street from our hostel is a Lima ruin that is currently being excavated. We took the tour and between men with wheel barrows of dirt being carried out, we made our way to the top of the pyramid. The vista of Lima's skyscrapers from the top of this pyramid was an interesting contrast between old and new.

Friday night we went to dinner with some Canadians that we met in the Mexico City airport. They too were staying at our hostel and beginning a two month trek around Peru. I had a local dish that was a filet of fish covered in a delicious red sauce and topped with calamari. Hank had a local chicken dish with potatoes and the Canadians ate pizza!

This morning we slept in and then enjoyed a walk along the coast where surfers waited for waves. We eventually found our way to a park that has mosaic walls with love poems written in it. This park was constructed to restore Peru's tradition of courtship in parks. There was lots of making out going on so Hank and I followed suit!

In a few days we will leave Lima and discover more about Peru. We are thinking about heading north towards the Peruvian Amazon and checking out a National Reserve filled with orchids and jaguars. More stories to follow...

Thanks for the well wishes and love from home. Thanks to my mom for her cookie bars that have become a treat for not only us, but for our new Canadian friends as well. They want the recipe!

Love to all! H&D

On the Countdown

Dear Friends and Family,

Welcome to our Blog! In just a few days the journey to South America begins and we will have great pictures to share. We look forward to hearing from you while we're gone.

Love,

Hank and Daisy

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