A January Getaway

 Greetings All,

It has been a long time, hasn't it?  I recall a friend telling me after the boys were born that we'd be buried in our lives until age 3 or 4 and then at that time we would be able to re-emerge.  So, I guess we're right on schedule.  I decided to dust off the blog to tell you all about our adventurous month of January.  

As adventures go, it wasn't quite as elaborate as previous trips we have taken, as we headed about three hours drive south of Lima shortly into the new year.  Under normal circumstances, January would have been spent in Minnesota, absorbing the short days and low temps, but COVID-19 adjusted those plans since we were remaining in Peru, we decided to find a vacation home outside of Lima.  After much sifting through AirBNB options, we came across what we thought was the ideal-a residence with a pool, a hobby farm, a trampoline, plenty of outdoor space for the boys to run around, and a short drive to beaches along the Pacific.  

Not only was it ideal, but it became even more ideal than originally thought, when the beaches of Peru were closed for the month of January due to another strong wave of COVID-19 passing through the country.  So, we hunkered down on the property and enjoyed what was available.  

A bit of forewarning-this blog post is heavy with photos of Bryce & Ray, as we're still in that new parent stage of taking pictures and showing them off three and a half years into it.  I will end with a wish of good tidings and good health to all as we endure the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, wherever we happen to be.  

Cheers everyone!

Morning Schedule- after breakfast, visit the farm:

A few of our friends at the farm:

Raymond bonding with the horses:

The mud puddles were a diversion that couldn't be passed by:

Bryce demonstrating his commitment to the art of mudding:

After the farm, time to hit the pool: 

After lunch and a nap, the afternoons were turned over to the trampoline, bubbles, the hammock, and glorious sunsets:

Afternoons featured a much different wardrobe, straight from a Benetton ad:

The hammock was interesting-Raymond handled it quite easily:

While Bryce found it a bit more challenging:

Pretty much every night, some variation of this:

Paracas National Reserve

For long time followers of this blog (and I'm talking 10+ years ago), you might faintly recall our trips to Paracas, but I would not expect you to; we were located just a half-hour drive from there, so we made a couple trips during our visit.  Our previous visits were in June, and we were astounded by the birds that we saw that were evidently in their migratory stopover during this visit (in the photo below of the Cathedral, if you look closely you'll see hundreds of birds perched on the rock).  We also saw young condors soaring above us in the sky, showing off their impressive wingspan and ease with floating across the sky:

The Cathedral: 

A young condor, posing for our camera:

We'll wrap this all up with a photo of Marianella and I, just to show you we're still kicking (and smiling):