Peru day 6

This morning we finally get to sleep until 8:30am!  Well we have to be on the bus at that time so set alarm for 7:30am.  It would give us time to grab a quick breakfast and be ready to explore. The bad part was Colin woke up with upset stomach and headache.

Oh yes that $15 bottle of ibuprofin is money well spent!  I also gave him a chewable pepto pill to help with an upset stomach.  Today is the day he is most excited about because we are going on a rafting trip down the Urubamba River . . . getting all geared up . . .

. . . and ready to go . . .

By the time we geared up and hit the water he was feeling much better!  It could have been much worse as one of the other kids got so sick his family missed the trip today.  Our guide was Cesar and we were paired with Reagan and her dad Trey.  They were ready to have fun too.  Now let me just say that I had read some not so great things about this river . . . people getting sick, dead animals on the banks . . . I told Colin he was to keep his mouth closed and do not get water in his mouth or he could be very sick.  Of course him being the 11 year old adverterous boy that he is, I am sure he did not understnad my seriousness.  All he wanted to do was get in the water.  Oh the water . . . it was a cool 55 degrees!  So we get on our raft . . .

. . . and all he can think about is jumping into the water . . . Cesar says, "you want float or you want ADVENTURE?"  So guess what we get?  Adventure . . . great!  I keep my lips closed so tight and at one point I hear Trey tell Reagan to keep her mouth closed too.  I laughed but so got his thought process!  The beginning of the trip was calm . . .

. . . with a lot of paddling!  My shoulders are going to be hurting tomorrow!  Our raft was the one splashing other rafts and basically being bullies . . . I wasn't so thrilled about being that group, but I wasn't in charge so just sort of sat back and well, paddled.  Cesar told Colin to jump in . . .

. . . he did but didn't stay too long, and I had to pull him back in the raft . . .

Towards the end of the trip the rapids picked up and it was a lot more fun.

I was so happy to see the ending point . . . you can only take so much . . . don't get me wrong; I had fun but was ready to move on to the next activity.  While we did have on full wet suits we had nothing on our feet so they were like two blocks of ice.  We quickly changed into our dry, warm clothes.  There was a guy who took photos of the entire trip so I paid the $20 for the disk full of videos and photos.  I thought that was a very reasonable amount and his photos were good too.  We rejoined with the non-rafters for lunch in Ollantaytambo.  What a cool town!

The terraced area in this photo is what we would actually be climbing after lunch.

Now you hear alot about eating cuy . . . which is guinea pig . . . this is a house where they keep the cuy.  In some restaurants they have this outside and you go pick your guinea pig and they cook it up for you.  This house was empty so that was easy to explain to the kids . . .

. . . the kids thought it was so cute and fun for them to have rooms to play . . . no one told them anything and let them just believe what they believed.  NO, we did not eat cuy while in Peru.  We reached Casa Huacatay where we again had a very tasty lunch prepared by Chef Nacho with local Peruvian foods.  We took the bus about four blocks and were dropped off at the terraced citadel and ceremonial temple.  We would explore the Inca ruins with a climb to the top but first we just enjoyed the views all around us . . .

These guys were fun to watch and they never seemed to notice the people . . .

Now on to the top . . . apparentley I did not take a photo so here is one from someone else . . .

 Looking down . . .

Taking a break . . .

Did I mention the altitude is a really kicker?  Sometimes I would walk 20 feet and have to take a break but the boy could sprint a 100 yards and be ready for more.  Ready to explore more or just happy to stop for a break . . .

. . . one of the great things about being on a ABD tour is the guides both take tons of photos and you get them all after the trip is over.  No more begging Colin to take my picture only to see my right eye or mid section or end up with a million photos of just him.  We made it back down . . .

Now back to the hotel to relax!  We had a little time before dinner so we just hung out in our casita.  Tonight was the Junior Adventure's Dinner and Movie night . . . which basically means the guides entertain the kids while the adults are free to have dinner without kids.  They had their own dinner while watching the movie, The Emporor's New Groove.  I ate alone at Killa Wasi.  Another family saw me eating alone and invited me to join them.  I was perfectly fine sitting alone and enjoyed just sitting and eating.  My meal was yummy . . .
Trout Tartar
Hearts of Palm Salad . . . the palms were prepared as if they were super thin noodles.
Beef Medallions with Chard
Banana Flambe with Banana Cake and Coffee Ice Cream
. . . no photos as I just plain forgot!  It was so yummy and great to just relax and enjoy my food . . . no cutting steak for anyone or having to eat faster.  I picked Colin up from his fun night and to bed we went!