Family Vacation in Peru!

Tony and I had been looking forward to June 9 for a long time - the day that my parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece would arrive in Arequipa! The day finally came and just last night we said our last goodbyes after a wonderful time together. The time went far too quickly, as it always seems to do, but we're so grateful for the chance we had to share our life here in Peru with my family. We traveled by car (9 hours each way!) to Cusco to see Machu Picchu and then spent the remainder of our time here in Arequipa. Baby Nora, now 11 months old, was a trooper and has earned a reputation as a good traveler. I started coming down with a cold two days before everyone arrived and effectively spread it to everyone but my brother-in-law before the trip was done. But despite the coughing, sneezing, and general aches and pains, we managed to have a wonderful time together! Here are a few highlights of the trip in photos:

Lindsey and Nora greeting two baby alpacas

Introducing the family to choclo, giant Peruvian corn, eaten with a slice of cheese

Nora doing sign language for "water" while Tony holds her over a small stream
(Tony and I were amazed to see her doing sign language!! Yes, we think she's a genius!!)
Nora made a Peruvian friend during our stop in Ollantaytambo, en route to Machu Picchu

Tony and I in front of the famous 12-sided Inca stone in Cuzco

Tony, my dad and Jon climbed to the top of Wayna Picchu early in the morning -
they did the 1-2 hour climb up in 35 minutes!
Nora managed to get her morning nap in while riding on Jon's back around Machu Picchu!

Here we are at Machu Picchu! The peak behind us is the one the boys climbed in the morning.

We soaked in the hot springs (more like lukewarm springs, actually!) in Aguas Calientes, the town just below Machu Picchu. Nora had the best time of all of us!

We stayed in this hostel, "El Rosal", in Cuzco. It is on the property of a children's home similar to New Hope that is run by a group of nuns. The proceeds go to help the home, and many of the girls who grew up there now work in the hostel. We were very impressed with the place, particularly the friendliness of all the workers and girls we interacted with.

Nora finally got to meet another Peruvian friend, Camilla, the daughter of our friends and coworkers here. They were so cute together!
We celebrated Tony's 28th birthday together with all the staff at New Hope by ordering in Domino's Pizza. There's no better birthday lunch for an upstate NY boy than pizza!

Nora enjoyed testing out the zip-line after Jon tested it out first.

Here we are in the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, well known for several things including the massive numbers of pigeons that congregate there. Tony bought some food and lured them up onto his hands for Nora's entertainment!

Here we are in front of our house with Jon, Lin and Nora (and a neighborhood dog we call "Whitey", for obvious reasons) just before they left to go back to the US. The time flew by way too quickly, and we were grateful to have my parents around for a few more days before the trip ended.