Cusco, Lake Titicaca and Arequipa with the Fam

It was a long time in the planning with a few ups and downs. The torrential rains of late January caused floods and mudslides to the point that Machu Picchu closed (for the very first time) and all of our train routes needed to be changed. Anyway, it all came together and we did southern Peru. We saw a ton, we drank more and we ate even more than that. We stimulated all of these economies with the amounts of money we spent. We took lots of pictures, did tons of talking, played some great cards and generally had an epic time. Muchas gracias a todo y hasta el proximo viaje.

Wow......pretty crazy.......earthquakes everywhere.....Haiti, Chili and Okinawa. I guess we left just in time. That said....we moved to Peru and it is definitely known for it's earthquakes.

What Would You Do?

"Of course I won't laugh," said the nurse.

"I'm a professional. In over twenty years I've never laughed at a patient." "Okay then, "said Fred, and he proceeded to drop his trousers. Revealing the tiniest 'man thingy' the nurse had ever seen. Length and width, it couldn't have been bigger than a AAA battery. Unable to control herself, the nurse started giggling, then fell to the floor laughing.

Ten minutes later she was able to struggle to her feet and regain her composure. "I am so sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me. On my honour as a nurse and a lady, I promise it won't happen again. Now, tell me,what seems to be the problem? ...

"It's swollen," Fred replied.

She ran out of the room.....

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Oh my......I didn't realize I hadn't blogged at all in December. Well....I am going to do my best to catch everyone up on the Westcott happenings.



Over Veteran's Day weekend we took a trip to Trujillo in northern Peru. We visited some very interesting pre-Inca ruins. This is the God of the Moche people. He was called the "Beheader God". Human sacrafices included beheading, skinning and bodily mutilation. Sounds like a bad deal to me.....



The four of us went for a hike up this HUGE sand hill next to Huaca Luna. It looked steep before we began and it looked really steep while we were climbing. We made it about half way up before we turned back. It was actually dangerous and not just a Sunday stroll. Note to self...don't wear Keens while hiking in sand as they fill up with sand with every step.



Parque Reserva with Mom and Dad while they visited for the Christmas holiday.



Peruvian hairless dog vs. llama......Pachacamac, Lima, Peru



My empleada, Fidela, and her daughter Kiara. She allows me to do very little and still have a clean house and food on the table. It's a good gig....I wonder if I could include them in my household goods shipment when we PCS next time.



Paracas, Peru for lunch....on our way to Ica, Peru for the weekend. Enjoyed watching a Peruvian duo playing guitars and pan flutes sing "My Way" by Frank Sinatra.



Tacama winery Ica, Peru. We stayed at Las Dunas Hotel and it was great. Very relaxing. I would recommend it. The kids and I got to take a horse ride for an hour out on the sand dunes. The horses actually ran......Ouch....



My new thing....lighted holiday blocks. Dad and I had a great time making them. They made some great gifts. Get ready for next year.



2009's Christmas tree



Heath with his new charcoal starter. Apparently Peruvian charcoal doesn't want to burn very easily.



A very nice Christmas dinner.

Thanks for the great visit Mom and Dad.....we miss you and the house is quiet (well kind of...Garth and Grace are still here). See you in February for the "Southern Peru Trek".

Sports Day Colegio Newton

York, York, York, York...........York rules....even though we got last place. Every year Newton has a Sports Day. When students enroll in the school they are made part of a House a la Hogworts. Being a British style school the Houses are British. We were made part of the York house. Lancaster, Tudor and Windsor are the others. My only request would be that York not be the yellow house. The parents wear the house colors as well and yellow is not my best color. I want to be green (my best color). I think it would be considered poor form to wear the Tudor color of green and claim to be part of the York House....Que lastima.......The theme this year was conservation and living a grean lifestyle. The competitions reflected the theme. There is a traditional Tug-o-War at the end for both the children and the parents. The parents are part of the houses as well. I thought we would be formidable in the Tug-0-War, but we got beat badly. Better luck next year........

Happy Birthday Garth

My first born is 12.......I am a few days late, however, the big day was 11/24. I remember the day Garth was born like it was yesterday. Now my baby is almost as tall as I am, his feet are bigger than mine and he eats a TON. We had a great time at his party. He and 10 of his friends got to play paint ball. GOOD TIMES......Here's to you Garth.....WE LOVE YOU.

Sporting Westcott Style

This past Saturday we had to divide and conquer. I went with Grace to her partido de basket (basketball game) and Heath went with Garth to his partido de futbol (soccer). Before Grace and I arrived at her game she told me that they would be playing a team whose members were 13-14 years old. Grace plays on a team of 10-11 year olds. As usual I thought she had lost something in translation as her basketball coach speaks only spanish. Well...I was wrong. Imagine my surprise when in walks the other team all, "Bras, boobs and braces". Pre estrogen vs. post estrogen, little girl vs. big girl, the short against the tall. Suffice it to say the post estrogenic state lends itself to superior sporting abilities, however, the pre-estrogenic-short-little girls "out scrapped" their opponents big time....BRING IT ON! Newton Colegio RULES