Costa Rica!

Hello blog readers. It's Shayna again. Sorry that I haven't blogged in awhile but it has been a very busy past few days in Costa Rica. Our first day in Arenal was spent at the hot springs. My parents got massages at the spa while Rebecca and I did some swimming. It was so beautiful. The springs are hotter than hot tubs and are all naturally heated by the volcano. At around 4:30 we were done swimming so we decided to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We then went back to the hot springs for an Asian buffet dinner. They even had sushi! Yum! The next day, we finally got to sleep in. Yay! Since it was about 10:30 by the time we were all awake, it was not worth it to go have breakfast. We decided that we would go back to the hot springs and get drinks at the wet bar and then eat lunch there. The wet bar was so cool. I got to drink my fruit smoothing while sitting in the pool. The bar tenders were below the water line. After we had had enough swimming, we had lunch and then went back to the hotel to rest until it was time for our hike to the volcano. The hike felt somewhat like we were back in the amazon rainforest. He showed us a poisonous viper snake. Aaaahhh! He then informed us that they are nocturnal so they won't bite you. If they do then you only have 3 hours to get to a hospital matter a long and slow hike, we reached the lava flow. There was an amazing view of both the volcano and the towns around us. I took lots of pictures. The next morning we were sad to leave but I was excited to continue on the next part of our adventure. The adventure started the minute we stepped into the car. Lets just say it was a very very bumpy ride. We felt as if we were back in Kenya on a safari. At one point the driver pulled the car over to show us a toucan. So cool! At one point we saw a car pulled over to the side of the road. I thought they were looking at something but then we found out that the car had gotten stuck in the ditch on the side of the road and they were trying to pull it out. Does not sound fun! We were just waiting for something to happen to us. After a few more curves, we reached another van that had a flat tire. Luckily, we were very fortunate and did not have any problems (other than nausea). As you can imagine, we were very happy to reach our hotel. We had a very nice room with a beautiful view of the rainforest and a loft for me and Rebecca. That afternoon we decided to go on a chocolate, sugar, and coffee plant tour. We got to make chocolate, make sugar candy, and watch how they make coffee. It was very fascinating. We also got to ride in a cart pulled by cows. I have to say it was pretty scary. Our next adventure day in Costa Rica was filled with zip lining, night hiking, and walking through the cloud forest. Somehow, Rebecca did not inherit the Dollinger chicken gene and therefore has become the daredevil of the family. She convinced me to join her in her daredevilness and we decided that we would go on the zip lines together. My parents would be the photographers. What an experience! We zipped through the canopy from tower to tower. We repelled down a tree and did a very nerve racking Tarzan swing. Although I was scared at the beginning, I was so glad that Rebecca convinced me to join her. Our next slightly less adventurous activity was a walk through the cloud forest it is called that because you are literally in the clouds. It once agin reminded us of the amazon. We saw a sloth! My trip was complete. That was the last thing that I wanted to see before the end of the trip. At the end of the trail was a beautiful waterfall. Not quite like Niagara Falls but getting close. As we were walking back, it started pouring rain! I mean really pouring. We all put on our rain jackets and headed towards the hummingbird house. Ok, it wasn't really a house. It was more of an overhang with some hummingbird feeders. I did take a lot of pictures of hummingbirds though. After the rain let up a little we got back into the van and headed towards the hotel. We didn't have much time to reset fore it was time for the night hike. It started with a view of a beautiful sunset over the jungle I will definitely be showing you pictures of that. We waited awhile for it to get dark and then headed into the jungle. I have to say, it was pretty scary. I was glad that we had flashlights. We saw many different kinds of insects including fireflies, walking sticks, cockroaches, and crickets. It was so cool and I got some pretty awesome photos. This morning we packed up. Since the car wasn't picking us up until 12:45, we decided to do a cheese factory tour in the morning. We got to learn about how cheese is made and also the history of the Quakers in Costa Rica. They were the ones that founded both the cheese factory and the hotel that we were staying in. At the end we got to taste some delicious cheeses. We also got some very yummy milkshakes. This time we decided to walk back to the hotel with some stops in art stores on the way. We didn't end up buying anything but it was great to see some art pieces. When we were all packed up and ready, we got in the van and started the ride to San Jose. At the beginning it was bumpy but then we got on paved roads and it was a much smoother ride. At one point, the driver pulled over and showed us a troop of monkeys hanging out in the tree. We arrived at the hotel and had dinner. Now it is time for bed. I can't believe that we are going home tomorrow! I will definitely be sad to leave but I can't wait to go home. See u all when we return! Shayna

Getting that Yellow Card!

Marc here. Priority one for our extra two days in Lima: get that darn yellow fever immunization card (which they, of course, deliver in a yellow card!). After a phone call to an english-speaking physician who calls himself "The Hotel Doc," we had the name of a local clinic that could issue the cards. A short walk to the Good Hope Clinic of Lima and we were immersed in the healthcare system of Peru. They brought out an English speaking nurse who explained that this was a private clinic for Peruvians who could afford to pay for their care. "We have the rich people here," she said. "The poor people have to go to the government hospital," which is, of course, where immunizations and yellow cards are distributed. She told us that it was a one hour taxi ride, on a saturday, of a holiday weekend....it would be just crazy. With that, we made the decision to honor our promise to the girls that they would get some choice in the day's activities so that they get some acknowledgement of their incredible patience. New plan: spend the rest of the morning walking and shopping in Lima and then call our Angel (the taxi driver and guide from the last tour company that handled our Peru part of the trip) and ask him to return us to the airport, where we know we can get the cards. After a very successful shopping adventure, Rebecca gets a craving for.....KFC....the worst part is that there are as many KFC's in Lima as there are Starbucks in the US. Apparently, chicken is very popular and its hard to go even a few blocks without another KFC. Worst-est part: I was actually excited and motivated for some extra crispy fried chicken! Forget local culture at this point. We want home (and in ways that we don't even eat at home!). Other than the MSG they added (and I discovered 30 minutes later! Remind me, in private, to share my other experience with ingesting MSG in Peru :) ), it was great. Angel picked us up, drove us back to the airport (about an hour), and told us that he had already called the airport clinic, spoke with the doctor, explained our situation, and she was ready to issue the cards, Thank you, Angel! Sure enough, it took just 15 or 20 minutes of bureaucracy and we had our coveted yellow cards. After lots of celebratory photos, we said goodbye to Angel (until the morning run to the airport for Costa Rica). In keeping with the American cultural food theme, we weren't hungry enough for dinner so we compromised with a walk down the street for Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Yeah. Angel demanded that we get to the airport 3 hours ahead of our 10:45 am flight to Costa Rica. Yadda. Yadda. Yadda. Good thing we did! Lima has only one international airport serving nearly 11 million residents. It was PACKED. We got to the ticket counter to get our cherished boarding passes only to have another incredible painful surreal moment: Ticket agent: "You only have two tickets to Costa Rica. There aren't any tickets for Rebecca or Shayna." Marc: "What?" Ticket Agent: "Only two tickets have been issued. You only have two tickets on this flight." Marc: to himself, holy crap. Within a few minutes, we were able to confirm that we did, indeed, have four reservations, just not four tickets. That meant that the airline needed to convert the other two reservations into actual (ok electronic) tickets. BUT...since the tickets were issued by COPA airlines (boo...hiss...) and we were flying Avianca, we needed to go to Copa....except that COPA didn't open until 10 am (even at the airport!) and our flight left at 10:40 am (not enough time!) Plan B: Have the Avianca ticket agent call the Copa call center and have them take care of it. (In order to get this far, the avianca agent sent me running upstairs to the admin. offices of Copa, where I barged into a private office with a sign on the door "do not enter." Heck with that, I entered. After shuffling me out the door, the guy said he couldn't help me. Surprise. Surprise). Fortunately, Avianca (yeah!) did help..called Copa call center..explained our story...got put on hold..... on hold.... on hold... for 15 minutes... for 30 minutes... for an hour... for 90 minutes..... Then, CELEBRATION! The computer revealed that the Copa agent had processed our two tickets. Within seconds, they handed us our boarding passes and we raced to the gate,(but first securing and customs) arriving 3 minutes after they were supposed to start boarding. Fortunately, they were running a little late and gave us 20 minutes to spend our last Peruvian soles.. Thank you, Angel, for getting us to the airport 3 hours early! There was a Costa Rican youth group on the flight with us. They cheered when the plane landed in San Jose. No one was cheering louder than us!

Costa Rica... Finally

As of the last post, we were in Lima without yellow cards, unable to enter Costa Rica. As of right now we have entered the country and are ready for some awesome days here. It's shayna. I will tell you about Costa Rica and my dad will fill you in on how we got here. We landed at the airport and were welcomed by someone from the tour company. She gave us stickers with the name of the travel company. The. Another man came and helped us with our baggage. He then dropped off our luggage and we were handed off to another English speaking man. He told us to have our cameras ready during the three hour drive to the hotel. He then dropped us off at the car and the driver took us to our hotel. Wow. A lot of people just to get us from baggage claim to the car. We got into a giant van for only the four of us. As we started driving, I got a little bit nauseous so my mom asked the driver if we could stop somewhere for water. After about five minutes, he pulled over at a Costa Rican version of Costco. They sold everything from bikes to groceries. We got back in the car and kept on going. I don't really remember much else of the car drive because I pretty much felt like I was going to throw up the entire time. If any of you have been to Yosemite, there is that really windy part in the mountains right before you arrive. We had that for three hours. I also forgot to mention that the drivers are crazy. The driver was going so fast through the curves that I jolted every time we went around one. I couldn't wait to get to the spa and resort hotel. As you may imagine, we were pretty much in the middle of the rainforest. There wasn't much around other than hotels and zip lines. When we got to the hotel it was pretty amazing. They welcomed us with free drinks and then led us to our room. Okay it wasn't a room it was an apartment. With every step I took I could not believe it. The master bedroom has a giant king bed, a living room and a tv. Mine and Rebecca's room is like a regular hotel room except it has memory foam mattresses! Awesome! The bathroom: giant jacuzzi bathtub, rain shower from the ceiling, two sinks, and a separate room for the toilet. We were so grateful that we could get the yellow cards. After hanging out in the apartment for a little bit, we decided to do some exploring. There is a spa and hot spring about 10 minutes walking up the hill. We decided we would walk it but a van was waiting to take us so we hopped on. The hot springs were incredible! The main one had a wet and dry bar and a small water slide. As you keep walking up the hill, there are more and more, each one getting hotter and hotter. One of them even has a waterfall that you can stand under. Next, my parents went to the spa to book massages. When we walked outside it was raining a little. Then it rained harder and harder and harder. Before we knew it, it was out pouring rain and there was lightning and thunder. It was really scary. We stood under an overhang and waited for the storm to pass. It didn't so we just went for it. We tried to find an exit but were unsuccessful. We stood under anther overhang and then had an escort with an umbrella take us to the van. We were very happy to be in the van and heading back tot he hotel. We had a very nice dinner and then decided against swimming that night. I was very tired so we went back to the room and I went almost immediately to sleep. Today we are going to spend the whole day at the hot springs and spa

A few pictures

A delay and continuing lessons on travel and life

Marc here. It´s been quite a 24 hours, full of frustration, even as our family does, indeed, understand the challenges of travel. We begin last night, when we needed to change hotels in Cusco due to a booking error from months ago. As it turned out, the new hotel was just terrible...30 degrees outside with no heat in old rooms with windows that brought in the chill. A location far up the hill that lots of hiking at 12,000 feet just to get back and forth. A 6 am departure this morning only to learn that there would be no breakfast for us because we didn´t request it 24 hours in advance (we only arrived 15 hours in advance!). Neither toilet flushed properly, it took 20 minutes to prep our "free drink" and the list goes on. We couldn´t wait to get out and get to the warmth of Costa Rica. With plenty of time to wait in the long lines of Cusco airport, we experienced a truly surrealistic moment when the agent told us, in plain and simple terms, that we would be denied boarding the flight from lima to costa rica because we had not carried a yellow immunization card that showed we had shots against yellow fever. Of course, we got the cards 4 years ago for our trip to Africa but nowhere in anything were we told that we needed to bring it... Strategy sessions begin with Marci and me. We decide we got a bad agent and when we get to Lima (with a 70 minute layover on a flight thats already 30 minutes late), we were somehow going to retrieve our suitcases, hurry to the ticket counter, get the boarding passes from an agent that doesn´t care, and make the flight. We land, make it to baggage claim, and our angel appeared, an airline agent with a walkie talkie working to get us processed through the system. HE would claim our bags. HE would issue the same claim number for the new flight and he advised us to move quickly to the VIP line at line 1 upstairs. Off we went, quietly celebrating. The new (nice) ticket agent is typing away as fast as he can, telling us how to move through customs quickly, to make our flight. Boarding passes are printing as she and the other agent say ¨"of course you have your yellow cards." Stop the printer. That ended it right there. We were told, in no uncertain terms, that we were not getting on that plane, that if we did, they would hold us in the international arrivals space until deporting us back to Peru. Ouch. With that, a Peruvian man appeared, asking if we were the Dollingers. The Cusco agent from our travel company (Yeah for Monogram Tours) in Cusco called him. He drove to the airport to help. And, yes, his name really is Angel. We learned that we needed a photocopy of our yellow card. we would bring this to the hospital clinic, and they would issue a new card for us to fly. And here´s how it went: -we called (at $2 a minute), the 3 people who have keys to our house. None were available for an immediate trek to get our documents from the house. The one that was (thanks Debbie Stadtner) didn´t have a key. We left somewhat frantic messages for Baruch Cohen, Ellen Levin, and Blanca, who cleans the house. -we went to Lacsa airlines to get on tomorrow´s flight. She said that since she didn´t issue the ticket, we´d had to go to Copa airlines. -we dashed to Copa airlines, waited in line, where they told us that Lacsa needs to change it. We disagreed. They sent us back to Lacsa anyway. -At Lacsa, they said we needed to call the travel agent who booked the ticket to sort it out. -We called travelocity ($2 minute, including hold time) only to be told that we had to go back to copa. -Back at copa, she called over a few lines to Lacsa (thank you!), only to learn that tomorrow is sold out and Sunday would require we pay a massive change fee. We told them it wasn´t our fault and we were denied boarding. She said its our responsibility to know the documents we needed and we would have to pay. -I called the Costa Rica tour company to tell them we would NOT be landing today and to get their help. they said they couldn´t help since it was our fault. I asked them if they knew about this rule. they said they never heard of the rule. I countered that if you didn´t know the rule, and this is your specialty (latindestinations.com, dare I say), then how should we? -we decide costa rica isn´t happening and we´ll go to florida, get on a last minute cruise, visit orlando, whatever. I call now to the copa telephone center (since, remarkably, the airport is not allowed to issue nor even price tickets). we learn that we would have to pay 4 one-way last minute tix, and then fight with the airlines and travel companies (or our travel insurance company) even as they all claim no responsibility since we were the ones without the documents. -we decide we´re going to costa rica to save money! -a new round of calls (I´ll spare you the details!) and we get a flight on lacsa in two days, no extra fees, and we´ll miss our time in the region with turtles. (can´t complain too much after the galapagos!). -meanwhile, the girls continue to sit patiently with our luggage in the international checkin area of the Lima airport. They were (and are) amazing! -next, we locate an office at the airport that books hotels (feeling a bit like snowden in the moscow airport!), then negotiate a taxi, then out of the airport. -.....five hours later!!! -loving the patience of the girls. -with adrenalin running, we just kept pushing in each of these directions, only occasionally expressing frustration with a travel professional for refusing to help, to show any sort of flexibility. (I think my line was "Hey, I´m stranded here with my family in the Peru airport so I´ve got my own challenges to deal with"). -and, then....the traffic...bumper to bumper...late friday afternoon of what we later learned was peruvian independence day weekend. -at one point, cones in the road closed off two lanes of the road, squeezing traffic to just 2 lanes. Frustration on top of frustration. -ALERT. NO READING THIS OUT LOUD TO YOUNG CHILDREN, PAMELA. I glanced out the window to see the cause of the traffic snarl...the motion-less body of a man who had apparently fallen from a pedestrian bridge overhead. I used my best spanish to ask the driver what he thought...he said ¨"bad" and I believe that he was dead. Fortunately, the girls were either sleeping or just dazed in the back seat and never looked to the left to see what was outside their window. -well, how about that for a little life perspective and lesson. As I mourned the loss of this man whom I had, of course, never met, and thought of his mom (he looked like he was in his 30s or 40s), I thought as well about the parents of Ethan, a boy struck by lightning at GUCI camp who is struggling to recover, then, of course, to Annais´death at Tawonga....in just a few seconds, all those hours of frustration, of $2 minute phone calls, of lost vacation days, took incredible focus. It was humbling and maturing in an instant. I certainly didn´t FEEL any better about it all at that point but I certainly KNEW I needed to take a few deep breathes and reposition myself. -when we arrived at the hotel, our room phone rang. it was that Monogram co. agent who went to the airport to help us. he gave us his cel phone, his office cell phone, and made sure we knew where and how to get our yellow form. and with this call from Angel, the tide turned. -the hotel offered to drop 20 percent from the room if we paid in cash :) -the little market next door turned out to be a mega supermarket. marci is very happy. -the atm across the street is from the only bank in latin america that doesn´t charge a fee to b of a customers. -the hotel offered a four course dinner for $12...because we missed three consecutive meals since cusco! -the clinic to get the document is just 4 blocks from the hotel. -angel will drive us to the airport sunday, even though its peru´s independence day. -ellen levin found our documents at the house, even though they weren´t in any of the places i thought they were, then she photographed them, then she went to kinkos to copy them, and just minutes ago, emailed them to us. thank you!!! You are a life saver! (And another angel watching over us.) we did tell the girls that while today was quite stressful, it would, some day, be a great story of our adventures. what a day it´s been and we hope yet another greater reflection on priorities, what they are and should be, and how it is these moments that are our greatest tests to keep things in proper perspective. (something marci does naturally, for me...a little more work.) we will update when we get the new yellow immunization cards. until then, time to sleep. Marc

Shayna here. I will fill you in on the last few days and on machu picchu. Wow! What an incredible place. We spent a few days in Cuzco and the sacred valley. We saw a lot of churches and a lot of Incan ruins. This is because when the Spanish conquered the Incas in the 1500's, they built cathedrals on top of all of the Incan temples. In the Sacred Valley, we went to an Alpaca farm and a huge crafts market. We fed the alpacas and learned how they make their wool into different crafts. It was really cool. Unfortunately, our tour was pretty rushed so we didn't get much time in the market. Rebecca got some scarves for her friends. Our next stop was at a giant buffet lunch. It was about an hour drive through the Andes mountains. It was beautiful. I had learned in school how high the Andes were but it is so different when you are actually there. Our lunch was in the middle of nowhere but it was still great. It was a small restaurant surrounded by beautiful gardens. We ate a lot and then waited for about half an hour. We could have been buying stuff at the market. Oh well. I had a good time taking pictures of the flowers. Our next activity was a hike up to an Incan Temple. There were a lot of steps and I was really out of breath but once we got to the top it was really pretty. Once again, he only gave us 20 minutes to walk around so we decided to just start walking down. Yes, it took us that long to get down the steps. When we got on the bus, we had an unusual passenger with us. He was a student learning to be a tour guide. He started showing us a computer program that teaches you about Machu Picchu. It took us far too long to realize that he was trying to make a sale. The second time that he walked down the bus lane, he made one sale. Wahoo! After he got off, we stopped at our beautiful hotel in the sacred valley. We stayed in our room for awhile and then had dinner in the hotel bar where they gave Rebecca a piña colada with alcohol. Whoops. She didn't drink too much though. After dinner we went for a nice walk around the town. It was surprisingly really nice. We went to this one store to pick up our laundry and let's just say we went on a major shopping spree. I got a sweatshirt because of course I didn't bring a jacket. I got gloves, Rebecca got a necklace and my mom got a sweater. We took a long walk back to the hotel and then went to bed. The next morning was Machu Picchu. We woke up really early to get on a bus so that we could get on a train. It was a beautiful hour and a half train ride. We were surrounded by the Andes Mountains on all sides with a river running down the middle. We're did that river water come from you ask. Of course from Lake Titikaka. Anyways, we got off the train and were met by someone from the tour company who brought us to yet another bus. We were there for about 10 minutes waiting for our tour guide. It was only then that our escort informed us that our guide was already on top of the mountain and that we should get on the bus. Well we could have been on a bus by then. Oh well. We waited in line and then got on the bus to head to Machu Picchu. Let's just say it was the long and winding road. Once we reached the top, we met our tour guide. He got us through the entrance and then we started the tour. It was beautiful. I had seen the picture before but I never really imagined it looking the way that it did. We went on a four hour tour of it and then went to the only restaurant there for lunch. It only has one hotel that is about 1,000 dollars a night. We decided not to stay there. Our guide told us that there was a 90 minute walk to a sun gate. We decided that we would do that short walk and then do our own touring after that. The day didn't really turn out that way. We may have taken a little bit longer on the walk then he said we would. Ok, maybe we took a lot more time to do the walk. Ok, it took us three hours to do the hike. We were just so glad that we didn't do the inca trail. Can you imagine? After our very long hike we got on the bus and went back down the mountain. We checked into our hotel and then had a free dinner there. We walked around the town for awhile and then decided to go to bed. This was because we wanted to wake up early to catch the sunrise at Machu Picchu the next morning. Let me tell you first that everyone we talked to gave us a different time that we had to wake up to see the sunrise. We went with the person at the front desk of our hotel. He said that sunrise is at 7:18. We thought that sounded right so we went to bed. The next morning, we woke up and went to breakfast at about 6:45. Someone was wrong. It was light outside. We stepped outside only to find that the sun had already risen. We were fine with that and decided to head up the mountain whenever we were ready. We got to the bus line only to see that the line went for at least 2 blocks. I guess that was the time to go to Machu Picchu. We were able to get to the viewpoint right when the sun was going over the mountain. The timing ended up being perfect. After taking some pictures and meeting a group of college aged girls from San Francisco, we decided it was time to head down the mountain. We walked around Aguascalientes and did some shopping. It was a nice town with many little souvenir shops. When it was time, we got on the train and had a four hour train ride back to Cusco. It was a very interesting train ride. We had a weird lion dancer posing for pictures and dancing to local music and a fashion show of alpaca sweaters. Definitely a cultural experience (or maybe a tourist experience but it was funny anyways.) we arrived in cusco, went to our not so beautiful hotel and checked in. We had heard of a really good Israeli restaurant in cusco so we decided to go there for dinner. We arrived at the street that it was on only to find Israel ktana. For those of you who don't know Hebrew, that means little Israel. Every store had Hebrew writing and there were Israeli flags everywhere. Who would have guessed? We had a delicious meal of hummus and falafel and then went back to the hotel to go to sleep. The next day was our free day in Cusco. It was the first time in a very long time that we could wake up whenever we wanted. We had breakfast at the last possible minute and then headed across the street to the big market. We spent a very long time in there buying gifts for ourselves and all of our friends. Next stop, chocolate museum. Of course we did some shopping on the way. Both of my parents got alpaca sweaters. In one of the stores Rebecca got a crocheting lesson from one of the locals. She told my mom in Spanish that Rebecca was too tense. She said that she was a shaman and could give her a relaxation. It was so interesting. She took special rocks and put them in a blanket. She said some things in Quechua and then rubbed the rocks all over her. When she was done she was breathing really deeply and Rebecca said that she felt lighter. I took a video if any of you are interested in watching it. The shaman told my mom that Rebecca had a lot of stress in her neck and back. She removed it apparently and then continued on with the crocheting lesson. When we were ready to leave we paid for everything and then the shaman gave us two little doll keychains for free. So nice. Our next stop was the chocolate museum. We learned about the cacao bean and tried some chocolate. While we were in the store buying gifts, we heard the Hatikvah. We followed the familiar song and discovered a chocolate making class in the next room. While the chocolate makers stirred whatever they were making, they had to sing a song. These two girls chose to sing the national anthem of their country. Wow! After the chocolate museum, we didn't do much else. We picked up our laundry and then got a little bit lost going back to the hotel. Two women in a kebab restaurant sent us in the complete opposite direction of our hotel. We eventually found it and were very happy that we did. We went to sleep because we had an early wake up this morning. My dad will blog about today because I really just can't put it into words. It was definitely a crazy travel story day. I will give you a hint that we are not going to Costa Rica until 2 days from now. Until next time, Shayna

Now for mom's perspective...hi everyone, Marci here. I'll share a few thoughts although the girls are capturing the experience quite well. Lima was the surprise city of the trip for me so far. I didn't know what to expect but I thought it would be more like the other South American cities I've seen. This had a very modern, metropolitan feel. Many of the American chain restaurants have made their way here, including chilis, pink berry, TGIF's, KFC, McDonald's and of course, Starbucks. Traffic was crazy, even when we landed at 11:30 at night. Apparently in Lima, a red light is merely a suggestion to stop. Horns are blasting like crazy. They love to honk for no apparent reason. We stayed at a really lovely hotel called the country club in the residential neighborhood of San ysidro. Five star and really luxurious. Never mind that we couldn't get the toilets to flush. More on that later. We had a city tour and saw the beach boardwalk, the old part of town and even found ourselves in the middle of a huge parade of competing schools. I loved it! You know how i love a good competition! The weather has been cooler than we expected. Great traveling weather for us dollingers but not so great for shayna, who left he jacket she planned to pack at home. Thankfully, Marc brought two and loaned her his fleece. For a girl who never gets cold, she finally admitted to being cold. I see a new alpaca sweater in her future! Luckily, we were prewarnend about the bathroom situation here in Peru. Hence the wad of Kleenex in my purse. Apparently they do not believe in toilet seats here so we have been doing a lot of squatting. And oh yes, you may not deposit the tp into the toilet, only in the trash can next to the toilet. Eww! I will never take my potty at home for granted again. Off to pack for our two day adventure to Machu pichu. Sending love, Marci