Productivity

I had a very productive weekend. The list: shampooed the carpets, mowed the front lawn, edged, weedwacked, weeded EVERY bed in the front yard, did some general tidying up, and did all my laundry. With Cari's help, the rest of my lawn got mowed too (well, at least half of the backyard, and then it started raining, and with the whole electric lawnmower, we figured mowing and water wouldn't mix).

I also had some relaxation this weekend as well. I went to Aida, the musical by Tim Rice and John Elton. It was lovely. It wasn't quite what I expected (I didn't expect parts to be so comically over-done), but I really liked it. I cried at the end. I love tragic romances. And then I had sushi. Mmmm. Raw dead fish.

On Sunday, Cari, Katie, Fred and I went to the "Animal Planet Expo" to watch one of Cari's co-workers perform with his Australian Shepard. You know, stupid human tricks-esque. So, we got totally lost in the ghettos of Pasadena, and completely missed the dog's performance.

But we arrived just in time to be briefed on how Cari could teach Bennet to do all these flying frisbee tricks and more. Its going to take a lot of work on Cari's part, because Bennet seems way more interested in chasing the dog that is playing fetch than actually chasing a frisbee or a ball. But I guess he can be taught. This is about where I tuned out.

Personally, I want to teach my dog to play fetch LESS not more (which seemed to baffle these professional trainers - but you try waking up in the morning with 5 tennis balls waiting for you one the bed and then we'll see how you feel about fetch!) Anyway, I already spend way too much of my free time taking care of dogs (which, don't get me wrong, I really enjoy), I'm not ready to add to that by making it a full fledged hobby. So, I wondered off to pet the rare African millipedes and cockroaches while Cari tried to convince Bennet that frisbees are interesting.

Morning rituals

I had one of those mornings. The alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. And somehow I rolled back over and then it was 8 a.m. without noticing the passage of time in between (usually when I "oversleep" its a conscience act of me hitting snooze every 15 minutes or so). When I finally dragged myself out of bed (8:05) and showered and was ready to be out the door at 8:20, I realized that Cari had left long ago and the pups still needed to be taken care of, Bennet was still in her bedroom, etc. Good thing I didn't stay in the morning wakeup trance or all hell might've broken loose when I left the puppies all day and Bennet inside and everything. But, that said, I didn't get out the door until 8:45 after doing the morning puppy ritual. Plus I had to change clothes (generally, not good to clean out puppy messes in work clothes). And, now, I still feel out of sorts.

Peru is calling

I mentioned before the Machu Picchu seems to appear in everything now that I'm thinking about going. Karen e-mailed me this article from the STA travel bites this month.

The Inca Trail

by Holly Zanville, University of Pennsylvania Graduate

[Having explored much of Europe, Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, the Caribbean, and more, Holly's favorite travel experience was hang gliding in Byron Bay, Australia.]

In April of this year, I got to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams: hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The entire experience was amazing, nearly perfect. We began our journey from Urubamba, Peru where I've been living and volunteering for four months. We drove through the stunning scenery of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, with the Andes peering down upon us, through Ollantaytambo and all the way to kilometer 81, where the four-day trail begins. We then began the twenty-five mile trek to Machu Picchu.

The second day of hiking was by far the most difficult I've ever experienced. It took four hours to ascend straight up 13,000 feet. They don't call it Dead Woman's Pass for nothing. (In reality, they call it Dead Woman's Pass because it has the shape of a dead woman, but I like my interpretation better.) Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who was having difficulty. Everywhere I looked there were people perched on trailside rocks catching their breaths and attempting to put their hearts back in their chest cavities while pretending to admire the beautiful scenery.

The view all along the trail was stunning. The topography kept changing from snow-capped mountains to jungle to forest, and every once in a while we came upon Incan ruins, which were a tease for what was to come on Sunday.

Sunday morning, we arose at 3:45 AM to start the final ascent to the Sun Gate, which affords you a spectacular aerial view of all of Machu Picchu. Our group was the first there because we literally ran and cut what should have been an hour and a half hike to forty-five minutes. (Luckily, no one slipped off the edge, where an 800-meter drop awaited.) When we arrived, we had a clear view of the ruins and the surrounding mountains, but the sun was not yet high enough to illuminate the ruins. Unfortunately (and this was the only down side of the whole trip) by the time the sun rose, the clouds had rolled in and set up camp for the entire day.

After holding out for over an hour, we finally gave up and headed down to tour the ruins. Although the four days were nearly perfect, trying to wander around and enjoy Machu Picchu after three days of hiking is a challenge to say the least. Justlooking at all of the steps made my legs and knees cry out, "Please G-d, no more!"

Fortunately, I chose mind over body and forced myself to explore the ruins, which were truly amazing. It was an unforgettable trip that I would recommend to anyone and everyone.