planes, trains & rust-buckets-that-pass-for-automobiles

Good news for anyone contemplating a trip to Peru: My parents and brother Justin came last week and racked up an impressive list of traveling travails, so I figure that means everyone else's chances of running into trouble go way down.

First, the airline lost their luggage, leaving them at the mercy of their hosts and the Peruvian shops, neither of which carry much in their sizes -- especially my 6' 3" dad.

Here's Justin, wearing David's shirt and shoes, my sweatshirt, and ... no comment on the underwear situation. Also no comment on the creepy doll.

Speaking of underwear, here's a shopkeeper digging deep into her stash to find some items after my poor travel-weary family couldn't bear to wear the same clothes for yet another day.

The next challenge descended primarily on poor Mom. Her body didn't agree with the high altitude. Or the food. Or the late nights followed by full days of traveling. She had a rough few days trekking around new cities at 10,000+ feet elevation.

Mom was a champ, though, and kept going -- even to the top of this hike overlooking some Incan ruins

Another hitch came when we arrived at the gate to Machu Picchu -- the pinnacle of our trip, the day we'd all been waiting for, one of the Seven Wonders of the World -- and discovered that yours truly had never actually purchased tickets. The papers I handed to the guy at the entrance were, in fact, reservation receipts but not tickets.

So we did something that the guidebooks don't even bother warning you not to do because it's on the unwritten duh list of things you just don't do. We gave all our passports and a sizable chunk of cash to a man named Ruben who offered to take the 20-minute bus down the mountain, purchase tickets for us at his travel agency, and take the bus back up, delivering our tickets and delaying our entrance to these world-famous ruins by a mere hour. 

I tried convincing Mom that Ruben was trustworthy ("He had a khaki vest and a name tag, Mom!") but she insisted she wouldn't be able to rest easy until he came bounding off the bus waving our tickets and passports in the air. Which, thankfully, he eventually did.

After the first four days, we had great memories of our time in Machu Picchu, Mom felt much better, and they had all gotten their luggage back. The rest of the trip went off smoothly. Well... except for a delay en route home which resulted in an epic 28-hour journey back to Chicago. But listening to someone complain about airport delays is almost as boring as experiencing the delay itself, so I'll spare you my whining and share some photos of our adventures together.

We enjoyed Machu Picchu even more after being held up at the entrance and wondering if we'd ever see our passports again.

Dad and Mom breathing the fresh thin air at 14,150 feet elevation.

Justin and Dad reenacting how the Incas used to store their mummies.

Learning about the floating reed islands on Lake Titicaca.

Mom was starry-eyed about riding on a reed boat.

At the Saqsaywaman Incan ruins outside of Cuzco.

Yummy trout lunch overlooking Lake Titicaca.

At the end of the trip I asked everyone to share a snapshot memory of the trip. Here's what everyone said...

Karen: David and I met the fam in Cusco. Our flight landed a half hour or so after theirs, and after looking around near the baggage claim area and not seeing them, I stepped outside. I have a distinct memory of turning around and seeing my dad leaning against a wall. My Dad! In PERU!

I don't have a picture of it, but this is basically how he looked (except he wasn't wearing David's jacket at the time).

David: He liked seeing the four of us (Mom, Dad, Justin & Karen) sitting together on the bus heading up the mountain to Machu Picchu.

Again, no photo of that moment, but since we had lots of time on buses and trains during the week, I had no trouble finding a similar photo.

Mom: She liked the hour or so we spent sitting on a terrace at Machu Picchu while we waited for Dad and Justin to do a hike. It was peaceful, quiet, cool in the shade, and we had a great view.

Justin: I can't remember what his was, so I'm just going to make it up and say that his favorite snapshot memory was all the bus/train/taxi-time he got to share with his big sister.

Dad: I can't remember his snapshot memory either. So again, I'll make it up and say that it was when we were visiting the island of Taquile on Lake Titicaca and he got pulled into a traditional dance. I do have a video, which I didn't post here for fear of being written out of the will. But for the right price, I'd be willing to consider emailing individual copies. Or, if someone has access to post to the church website, I'd be willing to pass along the video for free.

All in all, we had a great time and made memories that will last.