Happy New Year 2010!

2009 was a big year for us, and for a variety of reasons I hate to see it go. It started with a visit to Peru and Machu Picchu early in the year. This is one of the places we've always wanted to visit, but it's a long journey to get there. Bob kinda wanted to hike the Inca Trail from the Sacred Valley to Sun Gate above Machu Picchu, but Diane "talked him down off the ledge", and we took the train instead. That gave us more time to visit the rest of Peru, but it still seemed like we didn't have enough time, because there was so much more of the country that we wanted to see.

But we feel fortunate that we visited Machu Picchu before the floods that washed out the train tracks and stranded people in Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of the site. The Peruvian government airlifted over 4,000 travelers from the city in January after the rains and flooding stranded them and killed five people. They plan on opening the site back up in April.

We had nothing but great experiences in Peru. From a tour of the shantytowns near Lima to a playing the local bar games in chicharia near Cusco, we have some fantastic and unforgettable experiences.

After Peru we moved on to Equador and spent several days in the Galapagos Islands. This was another destination on our list places we had to see. The wildlife here is amazing, partly because many of these animals can be found nowhere else on earth and partly because most of them seem to lack any fear of humans. There are almost no predators here, so the Galapagos Hawk is at the top of the food chain. We got a chance to swim with sea lions and with sharks, and we liked the fact that the sea lions got much closer to us than the sharks. :)

We also got a chance to visit the Equator, and Bob got is first chance to set foot in the Southern Hemisphere. Just by chance we also to got to see the May Day protests and parades, and it was an interesting contrast to politics here.

2010 looks to be much calmer on the vacation front. We're looking at trips to various parts of the U.S. We'll be starting with a trip to Colorado in May, with some white water rafting, and visits to Mesa Verde and other national parks.