Machu Picchu

After a wonderfully short plane ride we made it to Cuzco. We spent a couple of days exploring this old and very touristy city. There ware still so many reminders that this was first an Incan city hundreds of years ago. Many of their strong foundations still stand. While there, we discovered waterfalls, old aqueducts, beautiful vistas of the city, plenty of Llamas, and of course some new street foods.

one of the many fountains in Cuzco

As we mentioned, our primary reason for being in Cuzco was to visit Machu Picchu. So we headed out early one morning on a long (7-8 hours), bumpy and precarious van ride. One of the roads we took was literally hugging the mountainside and all you could see out the window was the valley below. Maybe a little dangerous, but our driver made it through.

After arriving at the Hydroelectric station, we hiked 2 hours into Aguas Caliente (also know as Machu Picchu Pueblo), the town from which you access Machu Picchu. By that time it was dark, so we found a hostel and had supper. We had quite a good room with a loud, raging river right outside our window. It provided some good white noise for sleeping. But we weren't to get much sleep or enjoy the river as we rose before dawn to start our steep 1 1/2 hour hike up to Machu Picchu in the rain. The rain soon stopped as dawn came and the misty clouds rolled around us.


Our entrance into Machu Picchu was shrouded in the mist, but it really only added to the splendor. We spent four hours discovering all of the nooks and crannies and terraces, imagining what life must have been like when the Incans were there, and coming upon beautiful views, weird looking animals, birds, and lovely flowers.

The Llamas help keep the grass at bay


The famous view of Machu Picchu (with us stuck in there)

flowers!

Did I mention the weird animals? This appeared to be 1/2 squirrel & 1/2 rabbit

Dane showcasing some of the amazing Incan masonry built 500 years ago!

After our time there was over we hiked 3 hours back to the hydroelectric plan to catch our van back to Cuzco. Getting to Macchu Picchu the least expensive route (we did it for $98 per person and it's usually easily $250) may have been a bit of a challenge, but it was worth it. We slept soooo good after our day at Macchu Picchu!

Time in Lima

Lima is a bustling city. Especially during Semana Santa (Holy Week) during which we found ourselves maneuvering through hoards of Catholic pilgrims in our search for the city's most compelling sites. We discovered a city with a split personality, one struggling to identify itself amidst its past as a colonial imperial capital, pre-Columbian Indian homeland, and modern-day world metropolis.

Always in pursuit of adventure, Michelle introduced us to a side of Lima most tourists don't get to see. Venturing outside of the unashamedly cosmopolitan district of Miraflores - the location of our hostel - Michelle led us on an expedition to find every attraction that managed to make it in the legend of our free tourist map. Michelle, aka Sacagawea, navigated beautifully to the first several sites, but I began to lose confidence after venturing into one area in which every other person we saw gave us weird looks and muttered something about "peligroso." Remembering the instances where I've seen peligroso used - on rickety bridges, rat poisoning, and trucks carrying explosives - I knew we should consider these unsolicited greetings with seriousness. Apparently, so did Lima's finest . . . just before we were undoubtedly about to be stripped of all our belongings, 3 city police officers approached us and insisted on giving us a mile long escort back into the "safe" part of town.

We celebrated 4 glorious years of marriage while in Lima. Dane was having withdrawals of his favorite food (pizza) and Michelle wanted to approximate our tradition of eating sushi on our anniversary by trying cebiche, a fresh raw fish dish marinated in citrus juice, so we used our anniversary as an excuse to dine at one of the fine eateries in Miraflores - the only time we ate at a restaurant the entire month in South America. The food was delicioso, and Michelle enjoyed "the flavor of Peru," Inca Cola.

Our night out culminated in a stroll along Peru's west coast for a view of the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

Parasailor off the Lima coast

Michelle commented that the majority of our conversation on this trip had something to do with food. Most of that was probably initiated by Dane upon feeling the pounds fall off his already thin body due to all the climbing and walking (in some cases 20 km a day). All the activity did provide an excuse for temporarily suspending dietary discipline and indulging in countless varieties of street food. Dane's favorite had to be the empanadas and saltenas. Michelle's was hard-boiled quail eggs.

You couldn't pay Dane to eat this in the States

Opting for a one hour flight over a 30 hour bus ride through winding mountain "roads," we left Lima for Cusco - "naval of the world" and the oldest continually occupied city in the Americas. Like thousands of other travelers, Cusco is our gateway to the lost Incan city of Machu Picchu.

Update

We survived the 27 hour bus ride from La Paz to Lima. Actually wasn't as uncomfortable as we dreaded it might be, and the money we saved instead of flying is very comfortable in our pockets.

We spent four days in Lima and are currently in Cusco - gateway to Machu Picchu and the oldest continually occupied city in the Americas (founded by the Incas). We do want to write about our time in Lima, but until then here are some pictures from our time with Alicia, as promised.

On our hike in the Canyon de Palca. Mt Illimani in the background (21,122 ft)


Dane at the mucho frio Cascade at Coroico

Trying to get Michelle in

ALICIA & BOLIVIA!

We've been here for about a week and a half now. It has been soooo good to see Alicia and to see her place, her life, and her work. We have had a very full week to say the least. I'm having some trouble posting pictures, so you have one to look at and we'll post more later.

View of one of the mountains you can see from Alicia's apartment

Adjusting to the altitude of 13,000+ feet in El Alto was an experience in and of itself, but once we got over that bump, we've had an amazing time.

Just a few highlights: We hiked a small mountain with Alicia's Bolivian family our second day here (we felt VERY out of shape in the altitude). We found ourselves in the middle of some protests in La Paz (we weren't sure what we were protesting). We've had the opportunity to work at a couple of different ministries, including where Alicia works. Alicia took us to hike the Canyon de Palca with a beautiful view of Mount Illimani and she took us to Coroico for a warmer, more tropical Bolivian experience. Although tropical, the mountain cascade that we visited was NOT warm. Dane and his crazy self got right under the waterfall!

The markets here are great. They are teeming with activity. And you can get 25 oranges for a dollar! Cooking with Alicia has been fun and delicious. We've eaten Alicia's Oatmeal Whole Wheat Pancakes several times, which we usually have every Sunday night when we're home. Let us know if you want the recipe!

We're leaving for Peru today. We'll let you know how the 27 hour bus ride to Lima goes!

Who are your people, where is your land, and what do you grow?

-Andrew Lytle

This was the theme for the week we spent at Northfield School in Wichita. Why is this important for us to know about ourselves or about others?

As we seek our next steps we're thinking about these questions. What have the answers been in our past and what will the answers be in our future?

Not In Kansas Anymore

A dozen lifetimes is not enough to experience all the world has to offer. A while back, we read a novel titled Replay, about a guy who died at age 40, only to wake up in his college dorm room as a 20 year-old. After reliving the second half of his life, he dies again at age 40 and returns again to a time during his 20s (repeat several times). He decides to take his life in a dramatically different direction each "replay" until he discovers life's true purpose.

We are in the process of searching for the occupation of our lives to follow the conclusion of Jubilee. God has burdened our hearts in so many ways, I sometimes wish we could live more than one lifetime together and pursue a different pathway each time.

Our visit to the Elders farm in KS this past week was inspiration for one of those lifetimes. The story of how we met the Elders is a long one . . . suffice it to say it involves a Moscow connection and a Christmas tree near Wichita, but nonetheless we do know them. Their hard work, hospitality, traditional values, frugality, strong faith, and love for conversation resonates in our spirit and reinforces many of the lessons God has taught us in our years together.

Mid-Winter Week at the liberal arts school the Elders are a part of provided the formal excuse for us to visit them. We enjoyed delivering and attending a number of lectures, as well as participating in cultural tours and service projects as part of the week long event.

Our hosts also graciously allowed us to stumble around the farm as we attempted to help in various chores, from weeding the garden, to feeding the 11 newborn goats, to prepping logs for their on-location saw mill.

Ready for the mill

The work was actually fun for us, but one of the highlights of the week was the long-awaited horseback riding . . .

Learning the ropes

Thanks Elders and Northfield community for an unforgettable Mid-winter week.

Batesville, Arkansas

A trip to Batesville. Full of memories and familiar faces for Dane. Dane entered the first grade in Batesville and stayed until he graduated. He hasn't been back much, since the family moved to Nashville soon after his graduation. But many friends from the past are still there and love to see a Forlines come to visit.

Michelle was initiated into the culture of Batesville through the excitement of a "Wild Game Supper". But she fit right in thanks to her Dad and the many weird meats he shot or picked up from the side of the road to bring home for supper during her childhood.

Decoration for the "Wild Game Supper"

We attempted for the second time during our jubilee year to relive nostalgic mountain biking memories from Dane's past. This time we actually took bikes and explored the realms of grassy creek in search of the mysterious Indian Wells. Despite forging rivers, braving mud holes, wrestling through briers, climbing cliffs, and scouring satellite images on the computer, Indian Wells has yet to be found in this decade of Dane's life.

He carried both of our bikes across...what a gentleman!

We journeyed back to Nashville with a potentially brief stop off at Natchez Trace State Park. The brief stop turned into a not-so-brief stop when a 3.5 mile hike suddenly became a 7 mile hike. Something was terribly wrong with the trail map, but we made it out uninjured, with plenty of exercise for the day and only one tick to pull off.

Crossing one of the many wet areas of our hiking trail

We accidentally found a geocache box while hiking. It was a fun surprise

The sunset from the Forlines' house when we arrived back to Nashville