Return from the brink....
Well then another week, another lapse in memory.
As it turns out, I left Cusco on Sunday to go to Lima, visit with friends and wait for my parents to arrive so we could spend some time together there as well as in Cusco.
Hung out the first day, didn't do too much, went to dinner at a nice place on the coast with the remainder of David's GAP group and then started to feel not so good. Chalked it up to severe weather differences between Cusco and Lima. Oh no. Long story short, I spent about three days in bed, severely ill and unable to eat a thing. Not the healthiest way to lose weight I would say. I won't go into other unpleasantries beyond that.
So, after my illness was relatively cleared up I get a call from Den saying they are at the hotel and Mom is seriously sick with a migraine and may need to see a doctor. Well, I manage to pull myself together and D and I run to the hotel where he proceeds to meet mom and then give her a shot in the butt. Hysterical. So utterly classic of my family.
After a miraculous recovery we had a nice dinner with the rents that night and then on Thursday tooled around old Lima before mom, den and I rushed to the airport. I am realizing more and more how much better my spanish is getting (or maybe it just feels like that when you hang out with non-spanish speakers?) After an uneventful flight I was more than happy to be back in Cusco and away from Lima. (its an interesting place for a day or two, beyond that I can't really take it)
Mom and Den are in some serious plush digs, the Hotel Monastario, which is run by the Oriental Express and is seriously the nicest place I have ever seen. Not to mention that it is actually listed as one of the 500 best hotels in the world. Now, I love my little house on the hill but I have been taking FULL advantage of the BATH TUB and always hot shower. Its like a spa day every day. I LOVE IT! Now, I just can't get too used to being spoiled while they are here because its back to reality quite soon (along with paying for meals out, ha)
The past two days have pretty much been tourist days with me as the guide which I have to admit can get quite tiring. Mom and Den are great and seem to be enjoying themselves, but I forget what an alien environment this is for them. Money, language, customs (for the 5 billionth time it is NOT ok to flush toilet paper, pretty much ANYWHERE in south america) etc etc. Den is also shockingly wimping out on all the walking which I thought they wouldn't mind but oh well...cabs are cheap. They also I think were a bit taken aback by my house. Now it is not the fanciest place in the world but it is cute, has lots of personality and a great view. It also feels like home, which is very important in my book. I think it was referred to as both "rustic" and "primitive" rustic may apply a bit more, but remember we are in PERU, in a region that is practically treeless, thus the walls of my house are adobe and I have exposed cross beams. :sigh: I guess it is just a different world for them but I feel so comfortable here. Yea, I complain about the showers and all that but really, I don't mind. I'm happy here and they see that so of course they are happy for me but there was certainly an extended awkward silence the first time they saw the place and just really didn't know what to say. Maybe its surprising that I can be happy somewhere so different and so much more basic than where and how I grew up.
(Note to Dana and Joanna, they are placing bets on who moves to a hostel first!!) No, it is not a mud hut, it has windows and wood floors and all that, things just aren't particularly....polished here, including my house. But, we shall see ladies!!
Well, thats more than enough for now, I am going to go home and get a jacket because it is FREEZING here at night and then its back to Mom and Den for dinner. Tomorrow we leave for the Sacred Valley (Pisac and Ollantaytambo) and then take the night train to Machu Picchu and visit all day on Monday. Back to Cusco Monday night and then the folks leave Wednesday EARLY in the morning. Wow, its going fast!
Back in touch probably next week after the padres leave and work begins (the day after, yikes!!)
As it turns out, I left Cusco on Sunday to go to Lima, visit with friends and wait for my parents to arrive so we could spend some time together there as well as in Cusco.
Hung out the first day, didn't do too much, went to dinner at a nice place on the coast with the remainder of David's GAP group and then started to feel not so good. Chalked it up to severe weather differences between Cusco and Lima. Oh no. Long story short, I spent about three days in bed, severely ill and unable to eat a thing. Not the healthiest way to lose weight I would say. I won't go into other unpleasantries beyond that.
So, after my illness was relatively cleared up I get a call from Den saying they are at the hotel and Mom is seriously sick with a migraine and may need to see a doctor. Well, I manage to pull myself together and D and I run to the hotel where he proceeds to meet mom and then give her a shot in the butt. Hysterical. So utterly classic of my family.
After a miraculous recovery we had a nice dinner with the rents that night and then on Thursday tooled around old Lima before mom, den and I rushed to the airport. I am realizing more and more how much better my spanish is getting (or maybe it just feels like that when you hang out with non-spanish speakers?) After an uneventful flight I was more than happy to be back in Cusco and away from Lima. (its an interesting place for a day or two, beyond that I can't really take it)
Mom and Den are in some serious plush digs, the Hotel Monastario, which is run by the Oriental Express and is seriously the nicest place I have ever seen. Not to mention that it is actually listed as one of the 500 best hotels in the world. Now, I love my little house on the hill but I have been taking FULL advantage of the BATH TUB and always hot shower. Its like a spa day every day. I LOVE IT! Now, I just can't get too used to being spoiled while they are here because its back to reality quite soon (along with paying for meals out, ha)
The past two days have pretty much been tourist days with me as the guide which I have to admit can get quite tiring. Mom and Den are great and seem to be enjoying themselves, but I forget what an alien environment this is for them. Money, language, customs (for the 5 billionth time it is NOT ok to flush toilet paper, pretty much ANYWHERE in south america) etc etc. Den is also shockingly wimping out on all the walking which I thought they wouldn't mind but oh well...cabs are cheap. They also I think were a bit taken aback by my house. Now it is not the fanciest place in the world but it is cute, has lots of personality and a great view. It also feels like home, which is very important in my book. I think it was referred to as both "rustic" and "primitive" rustic may apply a bit more, but remember we are in PERU, in a region that is practically treeless, thus the walls of my house are adobe and I have exposed cross beams. :sigh: I guess it is just a different world for them but I feel so comfortable here. Yea, I complain about the showers and all that but really, I don't mind. I'm happy here and they see that so of course they are happy for me but there was certainly an extended awkward silence the first time they saw the place and just really didn't know what to say. Maybe its surprising that I can be happy somewhere so different and so much more basic than where and how I grew up.
(Note to Dana and Joanna, they are placing bets on who moves to a hostel first!!) No, it is not a mud hut, it has windows and wood floors and all that, things just aren't particularly....polished here, including my house. But, we shall see ladies!!
Well, thats more than enough for now, I am going to go home and get a jacket because it is FREEZING here at night and then its back to Mom and Den for dinner. Tomorrow we leave for the Sacred Valley (Pisac and Ollantaytambo) and then take the night train to Machu Picchu and visit all day on Monday. Back to Cusco Monday night and then the folks leave Wednesday EARLY in the morning. Wow, its going fast!
Back in touch probably next week after the padres leave and work begins (the day after, yikes!!)
posted by WanderLust at 5/26/2006 07:11:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home