Glaciers & Grub

Arturo's weekend climbing trip turned into a sort of climbing course.

As you can see in the photos, he used this opportunity to practice his moves on the ice.


Not bad, eh?


The trip, of course, also came along with the beautiful scenery of the Cordillera Blanca. However, unfortunately, the landscape also brought Arturo a first-hand look at the sad state of Peru's glaciers.

Peru's glaciers are extremely important. Peru is located fairly near the equator, but since there are over 30 mountains over 6,000 meters (about 20,000 feet) there are numerous glaciers.

However, estimates are that all glaciers under 5,500 meters will disappear from Peru by 2015. This affects the world in terms of global warming, but also Peru in terms of water, agriculture and more.

If you are interested, there's an interesting article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4720621.stm

On a more positive note, Arturo also had a chance to stop by his land in Mancos. It's perfectly positioned inbetween the Cordillera Blanca and Negra, with a direct view of Huascaran in all its glory, standing at 6,768 meters or 22,205 feet.

So, Arturo came back...and life in Lima continued...and continued well. We went out on a 'date' to Alianza Frances, the institute where Arturo is studying French. They have a lovely little French restaurant and we enjoyed some fabulous steak and wine. Yummy!

Over the weekend, we went to a barbecue. It was just a couple of friends enjoying some delicious food
(that, of course, Arturo cooked) and the beginning of spring. One of the most special parts of the day is that Arturo's friend Javier's fiance was visiting. Tamara is moving to Lima from Buenos Aires and they are getting married in December.

They brought along some vodka and freshly squeezed orange juice -- which Tamara and I proceeded to almost finish. The cocktails were delicious and I didn't feel very tipsy...but next thing I knew I was in bed, and asleep (a.k.a. passed out) by 9:00 p.m. I woke up five hours later with an immense thirst and hunger, and the room was spinning.

Boy am I getting older. A couple of drinks and I was a mess for all of Sunday. But, it was really fun...

On Sunday we went over to Arturo's parents for Sunday lunch. His mom has converted the house into a shrine for Sebastian, her grandson...it's actually quite adorable...and is ready for their visit in December.

Now, we're preparing for the parents' 40th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, a Food Festival on Saturday, and a 5K run for Downs' Syndrome on Sunday.