Tag: Peru

Week 3 felt a bit like a transition from “visiting” to “living” in Cusco.  In addition to that, we started to lick our wounds and recover a bit after the shaky start here.  Ironically, doing “regular stuff” was the real impetus for us to realize just how different life here is!  Case in point… Parque Urpicha.

During our chaotic week 2, Rik, the owner of our Spanish School, had introduced us to a couple of other traveling families from North America.  A Mom and 6 yr old son from Canada, and a Mom with 12 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter from NE USA.  We struggled to get together until week 3, where we agreed to meet at “Parque Urpicha” (Quechua for “Small Pigeon Park”).  Quechua is the ancient language of the Peruvian hill people.  The park is in an area of Cusco that we had not yet visited, clearly a mile or so outside of our insulated “historic district”.  We arrived to struggle finding the entrance… the entire park (probably a couple of acres), is surrounded by 12 foot fences topped by barbed wire, spikes, or broken bottles.  What looked like main gates were locked, so we followed some other who looked like they knew what they were doing.  The second shocker of the day was the entrance fee, we paid 80 cents US (2 Soles) for all four of us!  It does turn out that snacks, the ferris wheel, and trampolines are extra tickets, but everyone was shocked by the price.    As a side note, not working for a year has been amazing for us for many reasons, not the least of which is we all (kids included) have finely tuned value meters.  A year ago, our kids would not have  batted an eye to spend 200 bucks going to Six Flags for the day… no concept of money nor value.  Today, Kane is excited when we find a “good deal” for lunch, and he weighs that in his consideration of where we should go.

Back to the park.  When we enter the park, and start looking for our new friends, we immediately come to a tiny zoo within the park.  Birds, chickens, rabbits etc, all in cages as if your neighbor reclaimed some chain-linked fence from the junk yard, and build cages in his backyard.  The park has HUGE slides, and Kane ran-off immediately to check them out.  He came back a few minutes later to let us know that he had to “crab-crawl” past the first 10 feet of the blue slide because the bottom of the slide was torn, and jagged metal was sticking up!  I may eventually stop making OSHA jokes some day as a result.  (not yet though).

After the kids ran and explored a bit, our friends arrived, and headed straight for the trampolines. Kane made an attempt to join them, only to be thwarted by the “trampoline nazi”. She sternly told him that he first needed to buy a ticket, and after he bought 2 tickets and tried to give one to Kat, he got scolded again. The trampoline nazi was frustrated, and the feeling was mutual, but I let him handle it on his own. Eventually they both got tickets and spent some time showing off the skills developed over the last year in Clayton with the tramp in the backyard.

I don’t have any pics of the ferris wheel, but you know the “portable” ones you see at school or city fairs? If ferris wheels played kickball, all of those portable ones from the US would be picked for a team before the “permanent” one at Parque Urpicha. The upside was one ticket seemed to get you about an hour on that sucker! Our kids were literally starting to worry that they’d be stuck on there all day…. hollaring down from the top “WE”RE STILL GOING!”, each time around with more anxiety. The most memorable event from the day, I think for the kids was, when they were stuck at the top of the wheel, they evidently witnessed some dogs being beaten with sticks in somebodies courtyard. They still talk about it.

Later that week, we got another taste of “change”.  We’d been forewarned that for two days this week (wed and thur), there would be a taxi strike.  It turned out to be an all out transportation strike.  I’m still not sure exactly what all the folks were protesting, but I’ve heard various versions of:

1. Gasoline prices egregiously high for Cusco.  Prices around Peru have dropped in recent months, and in Cusco they have gone up 16% since August.  The Government is bilking the tourists (or they assume they are), but in reality, it’s coming out of the wages of the workers.
2. There supposedly has been promised an “international airport” new Cusco in Chinero.  This has been ongoing for decades, and politics are keeping all travelers flowing through Lima.
3. There seem to be regular protests against corruption in local government.  This one seems to be separate, but you never know.
4. Kane thinks the farmers are protesting not enough land and not enough money.

No matter the reason, it was an impressive show of solidarity. Not a single car on the road (the streets had been blocked by debris and burning tires). 75% of the shops, including all grocery stores where closed. Hundreds, of not thousands of workers marching in the streets (in the rain actually), singing, setting off cherry bombs, and carrying scary looking props (like a casket with a politicians picture on it). Police lined the main square in riot gear, and stood at the ready with their plexiglass shields, batons, and mobile phones. I figured it was a hay-day for petty thieves as I’m sure every cop in Cusco was on riot duty!

We finished the week on a really good note, once again getting together with our new friends. We hosted everybody for a simple dinner, the kids played (soccer on the street, and dodge ball inside), and Kat learned to finger knit. We hope to learn to knit with needles etc, but this is a first step. It was a bit odd to have something so “normal” as having friends over seem so “non-standard”, but it was great. It was a good week! We also did the day trip to Pisac, but that is covered in another post by Kane!

Well, week one, was a bit of a cliffhanger for us.  All we knew about Kim was that she was not in immediate danger, medication was heaped on her for angina, she had more tests scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, and although they had diagnosed “Acute Bronchitis”, they were not willing to supply meds for that until her heart was checked out more thoroughly.  Not to mention, her primary complaint… labored breathing and chest tightness were bad and getting worse if anything.

The good news came in chunks week two…. Monday revealed a healthy heart at rest, and Kim was able to get meds to address the “bronchitis”.  (antibiotics and inhaler).  The inhaler provided some temporary relief for her, which was great.  Wednesday she had an “effort test” (what we call a stress test), which was also clear.  Finally, she met with a Pulmonologist, who in 2 minutes changed her diagnosis to Asthma.  So after 6 days, thousands of dollars, and an emotional roller coaster, Kim was having an Asthma attack from her dusty pillow!  Thanks Peruvian Healthcare system.  They were fast, attentive, and thorough (I suppose), but if they had not botched her first EKG, I’m sure this could have been sorted out a bit quicker.

On to the bad news… Kim got news from her mother, Shirley that her Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma had returned for the 4th time.  Ugh.  The good news is, this is a low-grade (Slow growing) cancer that is treatable.  And Shirley is a grizzled veteran of the war on this disease, unflinching in her resolve, and armed with the best care money can buy at the Mayo Clinic.

It’s safe to say that it’s killing Kim to be so far away from her mother.  In the past, she’s always been a few hours away at most, and been able to go with Shirley to Rochester at times.  This is a unique feeling, and one fraught with guilt.  We’re all praying for Shirley, and we’re trying to call daily for updates etc…. but it still sucks.

The rest of the week, was sort of inconsequential by comparison, but in other ways, we did settle into a bit of a rhythm.  Spanish School continued, 2 hours a day, though with a new instructor for Kim and I (Jimmy was on a staycation)… it was hit and miss for us this week.  One day there was confusion and we didn’t have any instructor.

That day turned out to be a “two hour date” for us.  We went to the bank, went to scout out a “Lavandaria” (Laundry service), went to Starbucks, and hung out in the main square with our coffees.  It was a beautiful day, and really nice.  We did have a couple of interesting interactions with street vendors though… I’m pretty sure I was cursed by an old woman begging for money.  I don’t have any idea what she said, but the look on her face was all “screw you”.  A bit later, we got mobbed by about 4 guys, including a young boy about 8 or 9.  I was politely telling them all, “no gracias”, but one of the guys selling paintings was really trying to engage.  Then, all of a sudden, the kid was mocking me, and then he totally invaded my space (he had moved over and got right in my face).  I figured he was getting ready to grab my sunglasses or something, and I really didn’t like his attitude either.  I “shooed” him away with an “adios, chao”, and a sneer of my own.  Talk about weird.

One day, we asked our temp instructor (Warner) to take us to the San Pedro market, so he could give us some pointers for buying produce.  It was nice to get the names and descriptions of some of the “typical frutas”, though I’m not sure Warner is a discerning shopper.  At least we know what we are looking for, and have an expectation of what to pay!

Warner was a nice guy, but we are happy to be back with Jimmy now!

As you’ll see in the pics below, we did break down and let the kids buy a few souvenirs this week.  Kat got “good-deal fever” after she successfully negotiated for her pan flute (10 Soles down from 15), and promptly started offering 1 Sol for everything she saw.  I don’t think anyone has been offended (I hope not).

There really is nothing quite like the period building up to something completely new.  The days before a new school year (or the last days of the year for that matter), that time (be it 2 days or 2 weeks) between jobs, getting ready for a big move… etc…

I have to admit, the few weeks between coming back to St. Louis to ready and sell the RV, and leaving from KC for Peru were anxious (at least for me).  Life on the road, in the RV had become “safe” for us, the ultimate in “we can go anywhere, do anything” lifestyle.  The future in South America was the opposite… unknown place, culture, language, food, safety…  for me, I felt the way Kane described his solo encounter with the Grizzly in Kluane… part Excitement, part Fear …. mostly fear.

Ironically, the primary challenges facing us in Cusco during our first week were not ones we had anticipated.  By and large, Cusco is an amazing city, especially our primary stomping grounds… in and around the central historic district.

Due to the snow in KC, our planned 2 day visit in Lima turned into a 1 day visit.  This was actually fine by me as Lima is expensive, big, and extra grungy.  (kind of like New York City without the upside).  This is probably not a fair description as we only had one day there, but needless to say, we were happy to heading up into the hills to something more approachable.

Checking in for our flight in Lima was interesting.  We were advised to arrive 2.5 hours before our flight, and that was probably good advice.  A couple of events of note, a guy jumps the line at checkin, toting a crate of mangos, and plops it down on the scales.  I’m not sure exactly the protocol, but we did see him later at the boarding area, so perhaps he had already checked in and simply wanted to check an additional crate of produce.  The second interesting thing was, halfway to the gates, Kim noticed they had given us 2 tickets for Kane and none for her!  So now, the gringo was the line jumper, asking for a fix!

It turns out that Peruvian airlines was the “least cost provider” for flights from Lima to Cusco, but perhaps not the best.  Our flight was delayed multiple times, with a gate change.  Other than a couple hour delay, the flight was uneventful.  Kane got the window seat, and really enjoyed the views of green and snow capped peaks, glaciers, lakes, and terraced farmland.  He’s turned into quite the connoisseur of landscape over the last 7 months.  (even to the point of recognizing the beauty of St. Louis County from a fresh perspective).

Rik, the owner of our Spanish School had told us that either he or our landlord (we rented an apartment on a trial basis for 1 week), would pick us up at the airport, however, with the delays we didn’t know what to expect.  Well,  when we got our luggage and sqeezed our way outside, we saw Lara, our landlord, with her 10 year old daughter, Mel, in tow, along with a grumpy looking cabbie.  We exchanged pleasantries, climbed into the mini-van cab, and headed toward the apartment.

Lara knows English reasonably well, such that we were able to ascertain a few facts about Cusco etc on the 15 minute ride to the apartment.  Another thing we were able to ascertain was that the cabbie was not happy… not happy at all.  I’m sure he had to wait for us (not sure how long), but also the apartment is in a terrific location for views and walking… but it’s a complete pain to drive to.  There was quite an exchange when he dropped us off, and since Lara was footing the bill etc, we stayed out of it.  Once a ride has been given in Cusco, the power rests with the fare, it seems… the cabbie had no recourse other than verbal abuse.  From the look on Lara’s face, I think she was glad that we didn’t understand Spanish!

The first impression of our fully furnished, utilities included, $120 a week apartment was made in full by the magnificent view of Cusco and the surrounding valley.  We’ve been here 2 weeks now, and I still can’t keep from staring out the Ventanas (windows) multiple times per day.  Depending on time of day, weather etc, the view dramatically changes, but it’s always breathtaking.  The apartment is “rustic”… tiny kitchen with no hot water at the sink, tiny fridge, small gas oven/stove combo.  Interestingly, the gas stove is powered by a portable LP gas tank (much like the one you use to power your b-b-q grill… no city gas here)!  The bathroom is quite small and awkward.  The shower curtain is not long enough to keep the rest of the room from flooding, there is no “P” trap on the sink (the bathroom sink is a direct portal to the sewer).  When we arrived, the toilet was leaking, and the hot water heater for the shower was busted.  The deadbolt could only be operated from the outside? And to say the kitchen was was under-appointed would be generous.  We had:

– 10 inch skillet with no less than 3/8 inch thick black, flaky char on it

– 1 reasonable small sauce pan with no lid

– 1 working teapot

– 3 plates, 2 bowls, 1 fork, 3 butter knives, 4 spoons

– 4 coffee mugs, 2 broken

– 2 glass mugs for tea

– 2 unusable (the freezer is iced shut) ice cube trays

– 1 Osterizer blender, with base caked in black “goo”… imagine making smoothies every day for 5 years and never wiping down the blender

But, did I mention the view!

On Saturday, I spoke with Lara, and we make a list together.  Saturday night, we got almost everything we asked for delivered, and more… new complete set of dishes and silverware, a new skillet with spatula, a can opener, knife, juice glasses, etc.  These guys have been great!

By Monday afternoon, the hot water in the shower, the leaky toilet, and the deadbolt had all been addressed.  In hindsight, I’m pretty sure we’re paying a premium, but this place works great for us.  The best thing about it is the family that lives here… Lara, her two kids (Mel, 10 and Alex, 8 months), and her Father Alejandro live directly below us.  Below Lara, her sister Yanira, brother-in-law Freddie, and their kids (Fernanda and ??).  There is construction going on all around us too, but with this view, feeling safe, being able to walk to school, and having Mel for the kids to play with… it seems perfect to us.

Back to our first day, we settled in nicely, walked downtown to say “hi” to Rik and Norma at the spanish school, and found a grocery store (Supermercado).  All was well… until around 6:30 when Kane reported an oncoming migraine.  He took some meds and wend to bed early.  Then Kat felt bad too and went to bed early.  Soon after Kim was having a raging heading and nausea, and also went to bed.  I was the lone wolf, and held my own against the rages of the altitude… until about 11:30 when I too got the headache and nausea.  Kat has already posted about our sickness, and the details of her evening in my care… yuck.   After round 1… Cusco 1, Crawfords 0.

Pics from day 1 – Friday 2/7/2014:

On our short visit with Rik at the school on Friday, he had suggested that we “take it easy” over the weekend and get acclimated.  At that point, he knew what we didn’t… that some or all of us would be getting sick.  We didn’t do much over the weekend, except a bit of walking around on Sunday and the purchase of some meds for Kim who suffered the longest.  The kids and I were “mostly” better by Saturday noon, but Kim was still reeling on Sunday.

The Farmacia is one place where we need to sharpen our negotiating skills.  They’ve gotten us at least twice.  When you ask for Altitude sickness meds, or oxygen, they know they’ve got you!  Who am I do decide to walk away over a few bucks, when Kim’s well-being is on the line?

Saturday night, we decided to find a restaurant close-by that was recommended by Rick and Norma… Jack’s Cafe and Bar in San Blas.  Based on Rik’s map the place was just down the hill from us, between us and the School.  Well we arrived at the listed address, and we saw a restaurant called “Imperio”.. not Jacks.  Based on the menu, it looked like it might have changed names, so we tried it.  It was pretty good, we all got Chicken of some sort except for Kane who went for the trout with Andean sauce.  The next day, we discovered, that Jacks Cafe is still there, in the same building (directly under Imperio)… had we walked around the corner, we’d have seen it.  Jack’s is now a mainstay for us.

We’ve been regularly going to the grocery and loosely planning meals.  With Spanish class every day from 10-12, it works great for us to eat Breakfast and Dinner at home, and eat out for Lunch.  We’re eating a lot of chicken and ground “meat” for dinner, though we did cook Bass one night.  There are plenty of good “western” restaurants, and the price for all four of us is usually around 75-80 Soles (30-35 bucks).  So food is our biggest ticket item here at least, but it’s manageable.

We survived the weekend, and even had a bit of fun.  We were ready for school to start on Monday!

Pics from day 2 & 3 (first weekend):

Monday – Thursday of our first week were fairly uneventful.  We settled into a groove, and our days looked about like this…

– Get up, fix breakfast, study a bit of Spanish or finish homework

– Walk 15 minutes down the hill to School

– Walk to lunch at one of Rik and Norma’s recommendations (mostly Paddy’s an Irish pub, or Jack’s cafe)

– Go to the bank to get money and/or exchange dollars for Soles

– Go the the grocery store to fill in any gaps we might have

– Optionally explore a bit… a new square, the “South American Explorer’s Club”, a new market etc

– Walk or cab home (depending on how far we wandered and how heavy our groceries are)

– Kids (and sometimes Scott) play with Mel

– Dinner

– Books and Bedtime

We have a TV in the apartment, but only rabbit ears, and the reception is junk.  As a result, Kim and I are downloading a couple of shows via iTunes (Walking Dead and The Following), and otherwise spend our time reading books.  We each brought one print book, which we’ve exchanged multiple times for new ones at the SEC, and otherwise read on the kid’s Kindle Fires or the iPad.

Pics from first four days of school (Monday 2/10/14 – Thursday 2/13/14):

Just when we settled into a nice groove, we got slapped out of it!  Friday was Valentine’s Day, and we made plans to visit the “Choco Museo” (Chocolate Museum), for a 2 hour class “From Beans to Bars”, whereby we’d learn about Cocoa beans, and get to make our own bars.

After school, Kim mentioned that her chest felt tight, and the left side of her neck had been bothering her.  We figured it was lingering altitude sickness.  We found a place for lunch on the square across from the Choco Museo.  During lunch, Kim really started to worry about her labored breathing and neck pains.  I ran down the way to buy some aspirin for her.  She was scared, but didn’t want to cancel the Chocolate class.  I felt we needed to get her to a doctor, but my head was swimming thinking about how to do it.  We went to the class.

The Chocolate Museum was great, and provided a good distraction for Kim.  We learned a ton about the “Theobroma cacao” or Cacao Tree, and the entire process of farming, processing etc.  Our instructor Elizabeth, was from Argentina, was a grade school teacher by trade, and spoke fluent English.  We got to roast our own beans, shell the beans, grind the beans into paste (by hand and by machine), taste both Inkan and English Hot Chocolate, and make our own truffles/bars.  You have to leave the chocolates there in the fridge for at least an hour, so we planned to pick ours up on Saturday.

After we got home, Kim was still feeling bad, so we did some web searches on heart attack symptoms in Women, I called Rik for advice on where to best go for medical treatment, and we headed out on our next great adventure…

Rik had suggested a place called “Clinica Pardo”, we we walked down to San Blas and caught a cab there.  The receptionist there didn’t speak a lick of English, so Kim told her about her symptoms via a Google translation, and she told us to have a seat for a bit.  After awhile, they told us to go to “Clinica San Jose”, and that a Dr William would be waiting for us there.  Rik called, and I put him on the phone with the receptionist… he was confused as to why they were sending us elsewhere.  I was afraid they were passing the buck, but as it turned out, Dr William spoke english very well, and he was quick to assist once we arrived at San Jose.

According to Rick, these clinics are for “the rich and the tourists”… I didn’t see too many tourists there, and it’s quite a strange experience to say the least.  I’m not sure if it was the symptoms, or the fact that we had insurance, or the fact that we “likely” had money, but Dr William was all over the case.  Within 15 minutes of arriving at San Jose, Kim had a private consultation room, and had received an EKG.  The EKG evidently showed some “angina” (blockage), so more tests were ordered (blood tests). While Kim was getting her blood drawn, Dr William pulled me aside and told me that they were admitting Kim for 2 days to treat her and monitor her.  I informed Dr William, that I wanted to take Kim back to the states to be treated, and he pushed back quite a bit.  I didn’t know if they were trying to bilk me for money or what.  The EKG seemed “marginal”.

It was getting late, and Kim was waiting for her blood work, and also to consult with a Cardiologist. Rik showed up for translation and moral support, so we decided that Rik would wait with Kim, and I would take the kids home to get them in bed.  So we found ourselves in a very strange situation… Kim at a foreign hospital, waiting to find out if she was having a heart attack.  Myself, trying to stay level-headed, trying to manage expectations of the kids re: going home, and trying to figure out what our options where.  The Crawfords had to put on their “Big boy” pants this Valentines Day.

Sometimes it pays to be nice and engaging… ie Riks desire to help Kim based on his interaction with her.  It always pays to have capable and willing friends.. i.e. our friends the Hardemans back home.  While Kim and Rik were consulting with the Cardiologist (and getting another 2 EKGs), I had managed to track down Scott H.  an ENT friend of ours back home (at dinner!?), and email him photos of Kims record and first EKG.  Scott got a friend of his (an interventional cardiologist) to review the EKG within minutes.

About the time Rik called to say he was bringing Kim home, I heard back from Scott that the EKG was “marginal”… almost completely normal for a “pre-menopausal women”.  Both recommended more tests (a stress test) and heart ultrasound, but both also suggested Kim was in no immediate danger.  In fact, her blood tests showed no heart damage etc.  Diagnosis, mild stable Angina, and acute brochitis… most tests forthcoming, but apparently Crisis Averted!

Update from Kim:  Valentine’s Night was very scary!  I thank God that after all the tests including Heart Ultrasound and Stress Test(my heart is perfect) that I only have asthma.  Such a huge relief! I am very allergic to dust mites and think our bed and pillows are the cause of the asthma.  Unfortunately, they don’t have allergen casings for the mattress or pillows here, so medication is the answer.  I am taking an antihistamine and inhaler.

Also, on Saturday we found out that my mom’s Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma(cancer) has returned.  Mom’s low grade NHL is like a chronic disease, it keeps coming back.  She was diagnosed in 1998 and treated, then it returned in 2003, followed by a bone marrow transplant in 2008.  My mom’s strength amazes me!  I am so sad that she has to go down this road again!  It is not fair.  It breaks my heart that I am so far away.  Mom has to have 6 rounds of treatment(1 per month for 6 months).  She gets her port put in tomorrow, 2-25-14, and starts her treatment(2 hours on Tuesday and 8 hours on Wednesday).  The survival rate is very high for the treatment protocol she is on.  I talked to her doctor and he said “she has many years left.”  That is a huge blessing, but it is so hard knowing she has to go through this again.  Please pray for her and pray that she does not have side effects from her treatment!

Pics from Valentines Day (2/14/14):