Christmas & Trujillo

Now that the holidays are over...now that I have been to NY and back to Lima...I finally have time to update my blog.

On one hand, it seems silly to now write about Christmas, but on the other hand, if I don't write it down now I'll regret it.

So, I'm going to write the basics and include lots of photos (this is what to expect for the next couple of blog entries.).

First, the Holiday Season began in Lima with the arrival of Arturo's brother, Christian, and his wife Emi, and 10 month old son Sebastian...it had been EIGHT years since he had come back to visit Peru so this was a big deal. Although, his arrival was almost dwarfed by the oh so adorable Sebastian. To celebrate his return, his marriage, and his baby, we began a series of reunions.

All were fun...but night after night did exhuast me.

Another special visitor was Arturo's cousin, Niko, that lives in Mexico. We stayed with him when we took a holiday there a while back so it was great to see him, too. Plus, his parents invited us to their beach house which is in an adorable little fishing village.

(There were also many get togethers that don't involve money....but that is for another email...this one is family only!)

Before I knew it, school was over and it was time to head up the coast with Arturo's family. He had to work so couldn't come with us - but met us on the 24th just in time for Christmas Eve.

In the meantime, Arturo's parents, Christian, Emi, Sebastian and I went to Trujillo for a couple of days. We got to see Fito, an old friend who I have met a couple of times.

We also did some sight seeing and enjoyed the small city which offers some spectacular archaeological sites, as well as well preserved colonial architecture. At Chan-Chan, Meche (Arturo's mom) and I stayed to watch Sebastian while everyone else went on the hour-long tour of the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America, built by the Chimú and estimated to be built around 850 (WAY older than Machu Picchu which was built around 1460). As we waited, we watched Sebas charm all of the tour guides and guards. It was the easiest babysitting job I've ever had!!

We also went to the cute beach town nearby where we enjoyed some delicious seafood...and a walk along the beach.

Then, we stopped by one of my favorite sights in Trujillo, the Cafe Museo. It's a cafe below the Museum of Toys and is so beatiful with old wooden cabinents and photos of famous people around the walls.

Then, before I knew it, it was time to get on the bus heading north to Chiclayo to go to Arturo's family for Christmas.

Which is another blog entry...