Return To Middle California, Again, 2017

We were at Rebecca and Jeremy's less than two weeks: just enough time to get Le Sport out of storage, fit and rigged for camping (and back into storage), unpack, reorganize, pack for RVing in Europe, do medical and dental appointments, shop some, and spend some time with R, J, and P; and especially P. We were going to go camping, but heavy rains closed Big Basin State Park and we were forced to do our camping with P in the driveway.

She's become quite a reader, handling chapter
books now

No heavy rains in Oakland, so we went to Fairyland one more
time

Late March, all abloom

Now almost six, there's nothing she can't master
at Fairyland

Old favorite

New favorite; she must have done this for half an hour

Best of all, she was Mike the Magician's special assistant for
much of the show

Tasting curry ketchup; still the world's best
eater; not pictured but perhaps coming to
YouTube...bicycle riding without the training
wheels

Another embarquement photo, March, 2017

Rebecca compiled several over the years

Turning back east over the Pacific, 11 hours
from Frankfurt, and then Barcelona, and then
Figueres 

Last Day In Lima

After the Pilgrimage we spent the next morning packing and then flew back to Bean City, staying this time, not in the historical district, but in fashionable, suburban Miraflores, out on the coast, which you could easily mistake for San Diego. Another nice hosteria and some time to kill before our late departure for the States...so we walked along the cliffs to a shopping center and restaurant Marie had recommended. Great roast chicken. It was unlike every other day we've had in South America, but I, for one, very much welcomed the change.

Alas, to get to Miraflores from the airport
and back, you have to spent a couple more
hours in Lima's abominable traffic

But Miraflores is pretty nice

You can do the parapente thing in the morning

And surf later in the morning

There was even a nice Parc Guell wall to remind us that in
little more than two weeks, we'd be in Barcelona

Paddington Bear monument

Apart from the guilt, I could really like this place...we even
found a most agreeable supermercado in the shopping center

But Middle California beckoned...Moana was the airplane
movie...and we were ready for a return

Sacred Valley, 2

Continuing our turbuss pilgrimage in the Sacred Valley...

Beautiful streets of old Ollantaytambo

The fortress, which we will climb; the Incas held out here
for a time...

But first, yet another market

He'll drink to that

Across the (sacred) valley

In the fortress

Cyclopic, indeed

Spare parts

Moving right along...now we are about half-way between
Ollantayambo and Cusco, at a textile center...Ausangate? The
sun is down, we are above 12,000 feet, it is cold, but some
members of our turbuss party wanted to visit this place...

In the classroom

Cleaning alpaca wool

Dye materials, all natural, of course

Results

The old-fashioned way...impressive

Classroom #2

Special moment #2: after nearly a month in Peru, the only
guinea pigs I have seen have been in paintings or on menus;
finally, a whole pen of them, including this cooperative little
guy

And this inquisitive yearling alpaca

With Vicki