Peru Day 1 & Day 2 Journaling Page

As I said yesterday, today I am posting my first journaling page from our Peru Trip. Not too crazy as far as layers. ;-)

Thought maybe I'd come up with a standard layout for my journaling pages....but it only lasted for one page. The second half to this page looks completely different.

Here is a close up of my photos down the side:

And my journaling so you can easily read it if interested! I took a page out of Helen's book and printed it on photo paper and it looks LOVELY on my page if such a thing were possible. I am using the Cambria font, if you are curious.

Friday September 21^st:

Day One on the Peru trip really was all travel with a very short amount of sleeping. Our flights took off out of Syracuse, NY at a decent hour. I think we had to be to the airport by 10:30 am. Then flew into Atlanta, Georgia where we had a nice meal finally at Ruby Tuesdays. It always seems wise to eat when you can while traveling because an empty stomach makes one miserable.  I know my mood improved with a nice lunch/dinner after going through security! One of the really funny things I saw was a huge clear box full of confiscated items like knives and nail files, etc. It looked like art work until you looked closely!

Then started the jaunt to Lima, Peru.

I sat next to an interesting gentleman who was Peruvian and headed back to the country to get his wife back. Something in broken Spanish about his evil Mother-In-Law convincing her daughter to come stay for a month to assist with the family and then not letting her leave. We agreed she was an evil bitch since that word seems to translate easily. Wished him the best of luck.

Got to Lima at the unholy hour of 12:30 am. Grabbed my droid and even checked the local time as it seemed nearly impossible it was truly that late. We stayed at the Ramada Costa Del Sol. They had offered a free drink (as in a Pisco Sour) at the bar, but no one was interested in cashing that freebie in. It actually was the most normal hotel of the entire journey as our lodging proceeded to get more and more beautiful and luxurious.  

Saturday September 22^nd:

On Day Two, we woke up at O dark thirty for next the next jaunt. Flying from Lima to Cuzco. They served us our first cup of coco tea on the plane. We were told to drink it. It wasn’t amazing, but did seem to help with the exhaustion. Learned they made the tea from the same leaves that produced cocaine, but when dealing with exhaustion and altitude sickness, anything that might help would be a welcome relief!

At the Cuzco Airport, we were greeted at our bus by locals selling coco leaves and our guide suggested we give them a try. She also gave us instructions on how to place one or two in a small ball in the edge of our cheek. I was really nervous about the altitude and not feeling well, so had to give it a whirl. I had also heard they pumped oxygen into the bus, so that seemed to also help.

Our bus ride through Lima was full of twists and turns as the driver navigated the cobblestone streets, some of which had been there since Inca time. We saw beautiful stone work, poverty and colorful locals. Karina also explained the concept of Roof Bulls. We spotted them at the very tops of houses sometimes with the addition of a cross. They were said to bring good luck to the inhabitants.

In a short while we were climbing out of the city and seeing hills with stepped farming and eucalyptus trees. The air was full of the smell. We were on our way to visiting a family owned weaving center. Since they instructed us to drink plenty of water, it was quite a relief to finally arrive. I ran past people I had barely met on our bus to the small little bathroom and peed what felt like a gallon of water! Upon emerging from the john, I was then able to take in my surroundings.

And...I will leave you with that until tomorrow as it continues on my next page. ;-)

Happy Tuesday!