Day 3 – Sacred Valley Tour

December 8th, 2011


Brenda and I were amped up to do the Sacred Valley Tour. We had both heard fascinating things about this region. The night before, we secured a private tour with Glacial Travel who put together a custom itinerary.

The plan was to start out in Cusco, stopping at Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary, Awana Kancha (Palace of the Weaver), Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and then Chinchero.

Our Sacred Valley Guide Daniel

For a reasonable fee, we got an awesome English speaking guide, Daniel (see his picture above!), and our own driver, Maestro. The concierge attendent at our hotel, Joseph, also came along as he was training to become a tour guide.

Clare & Brenda at Pisac
Brenda and I at Pisac Ruins
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Day 2 – Lima to Cusco

December 7th, 2011


Note: We had dinner at Cafe Punchay (I typed Pachay by accident, in the video!). Oops.

Clare Enjoys Plaza De Armas

We got up rather early and had breakfast at the hotel. It was mediocre. At 8am we went across the street to the airport and hit the atm/money exchange for some soles. We waited for 3 hours for our plane. It was really late.
Clare Living It Up In Business Class - TACA Brenda Enjoying Business Class on TACA
When we boarded, we realized we were in the business class and we were the only ones. It was amazing. We had the entire front section of the plane to ourselves. Neato. They made us check our bags, so it was a little odd we thought, considering all the space. Oh well. One nice thing about business class was the service. We were pampered and we got a nice brunch to boot!
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Day 1 – Denver to Lima, Peru

December 6th, 2011

Gear for Peru

I don’t know if it was the lovely October fall temps, the magic of Eldorado Canyon, a wonderful day of climbing, or a combination of all elements; when Brenda confided a recent contemplation of a trip to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu the intrigue was all too contagious. It had been a desire of hers for quite some time to visit this spiritual and historic place. Hearing her talk about the idea sparked my imagination – Peru!

I asked if she wouldn’t mind having company. If she was going to join a tour, than it was possible she’d be paired up with a smoker and that would really be awful. Since, I’m definitely not a smoker, I thought I would plant the seed. I pointed out, “You know, the devil that you know…”. However, I suspected we would have a ***blast***, just like we do when we climb.

We discussed details and did our homework regarding pricing. By the end of that week, plans were in place. Plane tickets and tour fees were paid for a trip in December. I couldn’t believe I was going to go with Peru…and with Brenda! What a thrill to make such “last minute” plans. Whoop whoop!
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Party – Our 10th Manniversary

November 24th, 2011

Our 10th Manniversary Party
We hosted the Detroit Lions Fanclub to come over and watch the traditional Thanksgiving football game in our basement. Since our Anniversary happened to coincide with Thanksgiving (& Football), I decided to call it our Manniversary! Everybody hung out to watch the Lions lose to the Packers (who only ended up losing one game the entire season!) and then feasted. It was a wonderful day.

Friendsgiving Food-Sponsored by Justin
Justin & Crystal brought over copious amounts of food, all cooked family style. It was awesome. In addition, we had two different organic, range fed turkeys; cajun styled and traditional. Two kinds of gravy; full dark and chunky vs. light and smooth.

Chocolate Suicide With Raspberries
Bailey's Irish Cream Pie
Joan brought two different desserts; Bailey’s Irish Cream Pie and a Chocolate Suicide Mousse. Both were amazing!

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Rock Climbing – Third Flatiron, East Face (5.6)

November 11th, 2011

Clare & Jeff Ready to Rappel Third Flatiron

Jeff and I climbed the Third Flatiron on Veteran’s Day. There was one other party climbing with us, but they were nice dudes and so it was okay. Jeff had never led the East Face route, so he did the evens while I did the odds. It worked out really well.

The Flatirons - Boulder, CO View Northward - Third Flatiron Nerd Spotting on Third Flatiron Jeff Launching up Pitch 2 - Third Flatiron

Timeline:
10:30am, started hiking.
12:00pm, started climbing.
3:40pm, summit.
4:00pm, joined another party for one long rappel.
5:00pm, back to packs (It was dark, so we had to use our headlamps!).

The hike back to the packs was treacherous as the trail on the north side of the Flatiron was compressed snow and ice. A few times we slipped, but thankfully we didn’t twist an ankle. Microspikes would have come in really handy!

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