Bienvenido a Peru $1 U.S. Dollar = 3.15 Nuevo SolesOur time here in Peru has been wonderful! On our first day we had an excellent tour of the capital, Lima. The Plaza Mayor was very impressive, as well as the San Francisco Monastery where we all ventured into the Catacombs underneath (interesting but a little spooky). We had a nice walk to a little cafe where the adults had to try the Peruvian Pisco Sour, and the kids had to try the famous Inka Cola. We also spent some time in Miraflores, which is a beautiful coastal town where most of the nice hotels, restaurants, and shops are. Brandt got to sit back and relax on his stroller ride...Unfortunately, the ship is docked in Callao which is not a very safe area. On our first day, our bus had police escort...this is not the safest place to be a tourist. We have to pay $5 per person to take a 35 minute shuttle ride to Miraflores. With all of us being such a big family...it’s been very pricey to leave the dock. In fact, one day we did not have a tour, so we hung around the dock the entire day! At least there is an “Inca” shop here with a yummy, inexpensive, restaurant with authentic Peruvian food! I actually tried Ceviche (raw fish) for the first time! It wasn’t bad, but it grossed me out to be eating raw fish..I only had one bite.I think one of my favorite experiences here was the dinner we had at El Señorio de Sulco, an authentic Peruvian restaurant. I ordered a delicious meal (Lomo Soltado) with beef, french fries, onions and peppers all mixed together...I ate every bite of it! We had excellent Peruvian wine (Rubini...Cabernet Sauvignon). I hope we can get this back home! We had a memorable dinner experience! The atmosphere at the restaurant was perfect (even with Brandt having the messiest poop of his life)! On Friday, we went to Pachamacac Ruins which is a Pre-Colombian/Incan ruin that has pyramids and temples that were used 700B.C.E. to worship the Sun God. Although I would have loved to have gone to Cuzco and Machu Pichu, I was happy to have the chance to see an old ruin on the outskirts of Lima.After the ruins, we went to la hacienda “Los Ficus” for lunch, where we had a wonderful meal and where we were able to see beautiful Peruvian Paso Horses. We didn’t think we would be able to, but to our surprise, we were all given the opportunity to ride the famous Paso horses...even the kids! We tried to get Brandt to ride with one of the owners, but he cried. We were very impressed that Emma got to ride such a big horse!Gary left early this morning to fly back to Puerto Rico..he was right, we should have gone back to our favorite restaurant (El Señorino de Sulco) before leaving Peru!Our last evening was spent celebrating el 28 de julio, Peru’s Independence Day. We were invited to Adriana’s uncle’s house for dinner. Adriana used to work in Pittsburgh for the Semester at Sea program, and her family was sweet enough to invite us for the festivities. Dinner was really good, and they had guitar playing, drum playing, and singing..Cory joined in with the spoons...it was a wonderful time!We were a bit nervous about our visit here because we were warned as to how unsafe it can be. I am happy to say that we had a wonderful visit, and every Peruvian we met was more than friendly.
¡Adios Peru!

$1 U.S. Dollar=512 Chilean Pesos This Chile entry is quite lengthy......
Dia 1: I woke up at 5 AM to see the ship dock in Valparaiso, Chile. It was a beautiful sight with all kinds of lights sparkling on the mountain side. The sun didn't come up until after 7 AM. It was a little chilly in Chile (sorry, had to do it).

Cory and I, before the beginning of the trip, decided that we really wanted to go on a wine-tasting tour while we were in Chile. My mom and dad brought Emma & Brandt on a city tour of Valparaiso while Cory and I sat back, relaxed, and checked out Chile's wine country of Casablanca.

We were lucky to be able to see Gary (who was waiting at the dock) before we left on our tour. He will be re-joining the ship through to the next port (Callao, Peru). He and my sister have very close friends (Mariano, Veronica, & 3 beautiful children) who live in Santiago..so they will be spending their time in Chile with them.

Our first stop was to the vineyard Veramonte, where we were able to visit the winery, and taste and purchase 2 bottles: a Cabernet reserve and their famous "Primus" Cabernet. Cory thinks we will get these two bottles back home, I'm thinking they may be empty...
If we could, we would have bought more..but we are only able to buy 4 bottles of alcohol per port.
After Veramonte, we went to el restaurante, Puro Caballo, for lunch. This restaurant was the highlight of the tour! It's located on a horse farm where people train and practice for the rodeo. We tried a type of bread, steak and mashed potatoes, and Pisco Sour. The setting couldn't have been better!

I was able to watch a 9 year old girl on horseback, practicing for the rodeo. Very impressive!

Our last stop was the winery Indomito. We got another tour here where the wine was stored in both oak and stainless steel barrels. The wine was good, but not as good as the first vineyard (good thing we bought our two at the first place).

Emma had a great time with Tito and Tita because she was able to take an incline ride with her friends Emma and Danielle. My parents told me that Brandt was thrilled when he saw a dog (which there are plenty of running around) and trees (he was so excited when he saw a beautiful big tree). We had a fun-filled day.
Dia 2: We went to the capital today. Santiago is about 1 and a half hours from Valparaiso. It's a beautiful city that is bordered by the Andes mountains. We were actually very lucky to have the views of the mountains (my dad has been to Santiago before and each time he could barely see the mountains due to fog and smog). We went to a fish market for lunch where we ate at Augosto's restaurante. My parents ordered a crazy, giant, crab. It was yummy, but none of us realized how extremely pricey it would be.We met Gary, Elsa, Mariana, Nikolas and their friends here. It was great to finally meet Mariano, Veronica & family. Unfortunately, we had a short stay in Santiago. I would have preferred to have had more time to walk around the city. Santiago has a number of pedestrian only blocks, so it was neat to be walking amongst so many people. On our way back to Valparaiso, I couldn't get over the views of the Andes. I took a ton of pictures, but none of them really do the majestic view of mountains and city any justice.

Dia 3: What a fun day! Cory, Emma, Brandt, my parents, and I decided to walk around Valparaiso, find the fruit and vegetable market, and take a bus to the next town over, Viña del Mar. During our walk, we stopped at a bookstore and at a park. Emma, Brandt and I swung for about 5-10 minutes (It was soo much fun to be on a swing)!We must have walked a good hour before reaching "El Mercado". It was a great experience to walk through it and see all the action..we couldn't leave without buying "platanos" (bananas).

We finally hopped on a bus to Viña del Mar. The bus ride was crazy fast, but for some reason was more fun than scary. We ate lunch at Chucaro Bar where we had a table right next to a warm, cozy fireplace. The atmosphere was perfect! Cory and my dad tried the beer, my mom and I tried the wine, and Emma and Brandt had "una botella de agua sin gas" (bottled water without the bubbles). We ate very well (all kinds of steak, chicken, sausage, and pork) and plenty of "palta" (in Mexico it's called "aguacate", in Maine it's called "avocado").After lunch we walked to one of the main squares, right near the beach, and went for a horse-drawn carriage ride. We had a great ride up and down the streets of Viña del Mar. We took another crazy fast bus ride back to the ship, and made it back in time for dinner onboard the M.V.Explorer.Dia 4: Cory, Emma, Brandt, and I headed out to buy me at least one pair of jeans today. With all the food I eat, you'd think I'd be putting on the pounds...but I think the walking while at port, and the stairs while at sea are helping out..my jeans are too big and I have saggy butt pants more than often. Well, we soon learned that the stores out near the mall don't open until 11AM. So I decided I could go one more day with saggy butt pants, and we went to the supermarket "Lider" instead. It was fun! The grocery store had 2 levels, and there was actually an inclined-flat-escalator you could bring the grocery cart on to get upstairs. We bought a few things, but most exciting was our other 2 bottle purchases. One was a bottle of Pisco, and the other was a bottle of generic-store-brand wine. Hee hee! We are hoping it's tasty..it is Chilean wine!
Emma got a $3 princess crown, and Brandt got a Winnie the Pooh cardboard sign that says "Bienvenidos" (Welcome).

When we returned from our shopping adventure, we piled into a bus and a large group of us headed to Jorge's ranch in the country/mountains. Jorge is the person who worked with Semester at Sea to get trips and things planned for Chile. His house "camp" was beautiful. We had a wonderful barbecue with Pisco Sour and wine (again). Emma had a good time because another girl her age, Danielle, was there. Brandt enjoyed exploring. We were close to the beautiful mountain "La Compania" where Darwin actually spect time researching.

When we got back to the ship, I didn't feel too well. I got Brandt to sleep, and then Emma, Cory and I watched Big Momma 2 on our TV..it somehow made me feel better. Elsa, Gary and the kids got back tonight.

Dia 5: Today was our last day in Chile...and luckily my sister had jeans to lend me or I would have had to wear shorts in the cold weather. Cory, Gary, Elsa, my mom, and the kids and I (my dad had dean duty today, so he had to stay on the ship), took the inclines up and down the hills of Valparaiso. The city must have at least 5 different inclines. We took one up, walked around, and then took one down. The inclines were similar to the ones in Pittsburgh, just a bit older and scarier. We were all nervous! It was something the kids were more excited to do than us...it was fun when it was over!

We then decided (except my mom..she headed back to the ship to have lunch with my dad) to take a 5 minute bus ride to the grocery store Jumbo (Elsa & Gary wanted to buy more hot sauce they had fallen in love with). While we were at the grocery store, there was a little kids show with free face painting and a puppet show..the kids enjoyed that..even Brandt!

By 1 PM we were all very hungry, so we took the metro to Viña del Mar where we ran into Jessie and David (also doing the Teachers at Sea program). We had a wonderful lunch..we ordered yummy palta sandwiches (avocado & beef along with an egg, tomatoes, and green beans)..it was delicious..and went very well with our glass of wine:) We then walked around town a bit, and went into "Ripleys" clothing store where I finally bought a new pair of jeans. They are not the coolest..but they were only $5,900 pesos..about 12 U.S. dollars. Yay! We took the metro back to the ship, and stepped off of Chile soil for the last time to board the ship.

We had a wonderful time in Chile, it's a beautiful country with beautiful, friendly people. While we were here, we did get very sad news from back home. Cory found out that his Uncle Hallie passed away. It was hard to get the news and be so far. Our thoughts and prayers have been with him and our family back home.

We love you Hallie.

Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador. We spent one day here before flying to Quito, the capital of Ecuador (9,200 ft above sea level). Quito is a beautiful city surrounded by magnifcient mountains.On our flight from Guayaquil to Quito, we had wonderful views of the volcano, Cotopaxi. In Quito, we had a beautiful view from our hotel window, and the view had Cotopaxi in the distance.In Quito, we went to a number of places but the following were my favorite: La Compania de Jesus (a Jesuit Church with its interior covered in gold-leaf), La Plaza de la Independencia (where we saw an incredible sunset),and la Mitad del Mundo (where we were able to stand on the actual line of the equator! Brandt walked across the equator all on his own.I am so happy to have had the opportunity to visit Quito. Not only is it a city with a beautiful landscape, but things seemed much more relaxed and quiet than in the large city of Guayaquil.

I must say that our first day in Guayaquil was not the most exciting. We went on a city tour (which we spent most of our time in a Historic Park) and that evening went to a University Reception (which was not very interactive nor eventful). During the city orientation tour, before stopping at the Historic Park, we did go to the Iguana Park which was really neat to see even though the iguanas peed and pooped at any given time from the trees overhead. The kids and I did get a little peed on...yucky!Our last day in Guayaquil was super!! Cory, Emma, and I (Brandt stayed with my mom and sister) went to a Social Service Mall which is really an educational program geared for the people in the community with limited economic resources. We timed it just right and got to see a Cultural performance that was for a group of 10-13 year olds, and we were also able to spend time with the little 3-4 year olds in their pre-school classes. Emma had a good experience meeting new friends.When we got back to the ship, we all (except for my dad) decided to fit into one Taxi to bring us into the shopping area of Guayaquil. Our cab driver, Carlos, was great! He gave us an awesome city orientation tour, dropped us off to shop a little at an Artesania, and on our way back to the ship he stopped by his home to get some old Sucre coins to give to us as souveniers. He was wonderful, and it was sad to say goodbye to this sweet Taxi driver we will most likely never see again.We had a wonderful visit in Ecuador, so far one of our favorites! Even Emma said that this has been her favorite...although her reason was because she was finally able to get the dress she has always wanted!

Happy 4th of July! Yesterday we celebrated King Neptune Day! This is a day celebrated when passing the equator. People who have already sailed across the equator are “Shellbacks”, those who are passing the equator for the first time are “Pollywogs”. The “Pollywogs”, on this special day, go through a type of initiation process when passing the equator. The “Pollywogs” get green, fish slime poured over their head, jump in the pool, kiss a fish, then bow down to King Neptune and his Queen in order to become a true “Shellback”.



Some people go even so far as to shaving their heads! Go Cory!

Brandt went through a different type of initiation (no green slime or kissing fish): He got a nice, clean bath and spent time with the real King and Queen of the Seas!
Today we celebrated the 4th of July with a yummy barbecue and a fun parade!

We had a wonderful 4th, yet we must say that we did miss spending time with family AND....Camp and the Houlton Parade!! Did it go on without us? We miss you all! XOXO

The last time I was in Panama was over 25 years ago. Even though I was younger than 5, there is actually something about my visit that I do recall: the Kuna Indians. The Kuna Indians, who mainly live on the islands of San Blas, are very famous for their artwork called Molas. The last time I was here, a Kuna Indian tried talking my mom into piercing her nose...and I cried. Instead of the piercing, she gave my mom a black line of paint down her nose and I thought it was a permanent tattoo..so I cried again. That was my Panama memory. I now have new memories of Panama...and I didn’t cry on this visit!What did we do in Panama? We tried different Panamanian beers (Balboa, SoberAna, Atlas...), tried different kinds of food (fried plantain, empanadas, sancocho), walked around Casco Viego (an older part of the city which is undergoing a number of renovations), visited the Panama Canal with Grant and Ligia (very close friends of my parents who came to meet us in Panama), spent the night in Panama City for an early train ride along the canal (Panama Canal Railway Company), and rode in a number of Taxis and one very scary bus (the driver was way too speedy around turns and I’m still surprised the bus didn’t tip over).Highlights:
-The Canal was very impressive.
-We bought a Mola with lobsters....wish we had bought more molas?!?!!?!
-My sister and I found an inexpensive store very similar to Target, but called Conway and much cheaper...
-Emma got a fancy pink and white Panamanian hat.
-Cory and I saw dolphins near the ship.
-We were able to spend time with close friends of the family (Grant and Ligia).-The Panama Canal Railway (1 hour trip from the Pacific to the Atlantic) was very enjoyable.
-We didn’t fall into the water getting into the tender, and the scary bus didn’t flip over!

#1 Highlight: Brandt used shoes (sandals) for the first time here in Panama...he’s starting to walk!!!Fortunately, this is the only port that we will have the experience of “tendering”. What this means is that the ship is actually anchored about a mile offshore. We couldn’t walk off the gangway onto shore, we had to take a tender (which is basically a lifeboat) from the ship in open ocean to land. It made things a bit trickier, especially with 4 young children. The first day in Panama we were almost not allowed off the ship (those with children and some adult passengers) because the sea was rough with swells which made it very difficult to get from the ship into the tender. We were finally given the okay..and we all made it (the crew actually had to carry Emma, Mariana, and Nikolas into the tender and Brandt was attached to my hip). I am happy to say that we experienced it safely (although it was a little scary at times).We will be sailing over the Equator tomorrow, and will be in Ecuador on the 5th of July!