Mom is right, again!

My mother is going into her third year in an independent living setting and has just turned 91. She claims that there are all kinds of wonderful stories among her neighbors. In addition to the 23 retired priests (there’s a story there), and a retired ambassador (another), artists, intellectuals, she says everyone has a story, and she proved it by inviting her friend Florence to have lunch with us. Florence is 95, and came to the US from China in a cargo ship in the 1930s. She had a lot of adventures before she arrived (carrying a rifle among them), and a lot more when she settled in the US. Florence taught cooking at the China Institute in New York, and after meeting her, Craig Claiborne (long time food critic of the NY Times) wrote a full page article about her that led to her writing a cookbook about Regional Chinese cooking, long, long before anyone in the US knew there was anything but Cantonese food in China. Jonathan had her cookbook on our kitchen shelf for many years and was thrilled to meet her.

Florence is charming and wonderful to talk to. She invited us to her apartment to see her books and she had some beautiful souvenirs of China that she showed us. When she was young, women had to learn to embroider with fine, silk thread to decorate their trousseau. She still has some of the pillow cases she embroidered, and according to my mom, Florence is still skilled with a needle. We had a lively discussion over lunch and our visit. My mom is (once again) right, everyone seems to have a story and don’t let a mild gaze keep you from asking about what people did before they hit age 90. You’ll probably be surprised. I was.

L-R: Jeanne Creamer, Florence Lin, Jonathan Haas
L-R: Jeanne Creamer, Florence Lin, Jonathan Haas

Me and my Warby Parkers are off and away

I wanted to say that for a while (see my Facebook for the actual eyeglasses). Accuracy demands that I note it’s not just me and my attractive eyewear, but also Jonathan (beloved and chef), two or three large suitcases, carry-ons and much paperwork clutched in our slightly nervous hands. Last year was easy, everyone spoke something we speak. This year is different, definitely out of our comfort zone, though we’re looking forward to all our stops, starting with the US and then Morocco.

We said goodbye to all our friends in Barranca. Most people were packing up to return to Lima this weekend because the school year starts on Tuesday, though there was some complaining that it was too hot to go back to school when the beach is still much nicer than the city. This reminds me of our annual lament in Wheaton that the pool closes before Labor Day even though it is still plenty hot enough to swim. It doesn’t matter where you live, no one wants summer to end. We have the advantage of following spring for a while.

20160226_100200smI love these guys with their yellow feet and ducktail hairdos. They’ll still be fishing along the shore when I get back in November. In the meantime, I’ll be posting about our travels. I hope you’ll keep reading!

From the Vault: Barcelona

I made a list of my favorite places in Barcelona. I’m not sure why I never posted it, so here it is now. It is followed by my notes on “useful to know” items for Barcelona and Europe more widely.

Barcelona Highlights
Best way to spend a Sunday (many stores are closed): Montjuic park. Visit any of these places that are within the park: Castle, Botanical Garden, Miro Museum, National Museum of the Art of Catalonia, Poble Espanol. If you’d just like a stroll, you can forgo all of these and walk along the top of the hill from the Miramar Hotel along a path that has a view of the sea from the W Hotel and superyacht basin to the cruise ship port and the container ship port.

Favorite sights:
Sagrada Familia basilica
Miro museum
Picasso museum
National Museum of the Art of Catalonia
MUHBA-Museum of the History of Barcelona, walk through the excavation of ancient Barcelona back to the time of the Romans

Gaudi and Catalan Modernism:
Everyone visits Barcelona to see the architecture of Antoni Gaudi (Gow-DEE). There are other fascinating buildings by his competitors and students.
• Favorite Gaudi works: Parc Guell, Palau Guell, Casa Batllo, Casa Vicens (will be open to the public starting in 2016)
• Favorite works of others:
o Palau de la Musica Catalana and the Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, or the Sant Pau recinte modernista (https://www.santpaubarcelona.org/en/qui-som) both by Gaudi’s competitor Domenech I Montaner and are fabulous examples of the extreme creativity of Catalan modernism. The “hospital” complex is no longer a hospital, is recently renovated and still finding its mission but the exteriors are gorgeous and reminiscent of a section of Disney World because of the number of restored period buildings included.

Day (or two) trips from Barcelona
o Beaches. There are beaches that range from a short bus or metro ride away from the old city, to a couple of hours. Barceloneta is the area closest to the city and has a highly developed area of restaurants along the shore. The beaches have facilities. Frank Gehry built a gigantic sculpture of a fish that looks over the beaches and the former Olympic harbor. We visited these beaches by bus.
o Beaches out of town. We visited Caldes d’Estrach one day, and Sant Pol de Mar another. Sant Pol has a hermitage dating to the 11th century on a knoll overlooking the water that is worth a look. These beaches were accessible by the regional short-distance trains (Rodalies de Catalunya). Try Sitges and the nearby town of Garraf, where there is a structure by Gaudi that is now a restaurant.
o Tarragona. We spent a day in Tarragona, traveling both ways on the train from the main Sants station in Barcelona. The lesson from this is that you need to know the final destination of the train you want to get on, as well as the stop you want, as the train may not be marked with your destination.
o Figueres. We stayed overnight in Roses on the Bay of Roses and recommend it.
In Figueres we visited the Dali Museum. There is also the Dali home in Portlligat, which we did not have time to visit. The bay is good for swimming and the beach if the weather cooperates. Nearby are two excellent areas for birdwatching, the Cap de Creus Natural Park, and the Emporda marshes (Aiguamolls de l’Empordà). We visited the marshes and had a wonderful day. There are hides to sit in, lots of parking and helpful ranger staff. We also did not have time to visit the archaeological of Empúries, the largest Greek outpost in Spain. There is also a later Roman occupation. The name of the town is related to the word “Emporium” meaning place of trade. For this trip, we rented a car from a Europcar office, located in a parking garage a short subway ride from our apartment. This proved more convenient than going to the airport to pick up a car, though not different in price.
• There is an excellent birdwatching area very close to the Barcelona airport, but ironically, unless you are a strong hiker and have a deft hand with the bus system, a car is needed.

Good to Know for travel in Europe/Spain/Barcelona
o Europe–Credit cards must have a chip to work everywhere. US credit cards that slide do work, but not in every kiosk, such as in train stations.
• Europe–It helps to have a phone data plan so that you can use GPS.
• Europe–Many apartments have a clothes washer but not a dryer. Apartments often have clotheslines or access to clotheslines on the roof of the building. You may have to ask a neighbor or concierge how to get access.
• Europe–If you are eligible for an ICOM, ICOMOS or other card that gives you a discount on museum entrance fees, consider getting one. Having to decide whether it’s worth another 12-15€ to check out a lesser known museum makes economic sense but sometimes the exhibits in the smaller museums can be interesting and less crowded than elsewhere. We saw an exhibit, Humans+: the Future of our Species, at the Centro de Cultura Contemporanea de Barcelona (CCCB) that was excellent. There was only one other exhibit at the center, however. With our membership there was no charge, and I probably would have skipped it for 8€.
• Europe–Look for free events in listings online English-language newspapers, free handouts from hotels, visitor information offices and guidebooks. I found free concerts by reading posters in the street. There are often free concerts associated with festivals. Not all of these are advertised to tourists. The Merce festival in Barcelona in September included a very large program of free concerts. The full listing only appeared in the Catalan program, paper or pdf. The Palau de la Musica Catalana features highly publicized flamenco concerts, but also hosts inexpensive concerts produced in house. Thus we saw Nosferatu with live organ accompaniment by the chief organist for Sagrada Familia on Nov. 1.
• Spain–Store hours can be unfamiliar. In Barcelona, many stores are closed from 2-3:30 pm, and open until 8 pm.
• Spain–Trash may go out to large containers on the corner of the block rather than go in containers in your building. Same with recycling.
• Spain–Dishwashers may need to be refilled with salt periodically. You’ll know because your dishes will come out filmed with white stuff. I went online and found where to add it in the model in our apartment.
• Spain–Lots of people speak English, but don’t hesitate to try out your Spanish, no matter how limited.
• Spain–If you are over 60 and plan to travel by train, spend a few minutes at the station and get a “targeta daurada” (gold card). It makes you eligible for a significant discount on train trips, though you’ll need help at the ticket machine the first time you use it to purchase a ticket. It cost us 6€ each and is good for one year throughout Spain.
• Barcelona–Unless you make multiple trips per day per person on the buses, subway, train, it doesn’t pay to buy a monthly, weekly or daily unlimited transit pass. The T-10 transit card for Barcelona is very useful because it can be shared between two people (maybe up to 4 people). All the other multi-ride tickets are specific to an individual. Each ticket includes free transfers to most other forms of transport within 90 minutes of your departure time.
• Barcelona–Aerial tramways don’t participate in the common ticketing sytem and cost significantly more each way (7-11€). You may consider taking a ride to view the city but don’t count on these as transport to a specific destination. The lines are usually long.
• Barcelona–If you are going someplace that requires you to be on time, identify two ways to get there so that you can take a bus if the taxis are blocked or on strike, the metro if the bus route is blocked by a demonstration, or a bus if the metro is on a slowdown. These things happened to us.

From the back room: California

I took notes on some of the great places we visited along the northern California coast during June-Aug. 2015. Somehow I never posted them, though I may have mentioned the excellent, Hiker’s Hip Pocket Guide to the Mendocino Coast, by Bob Lorentzen. We used it regularly. My own notes are these:

Places visited on the California Coast between Pt. Arena and Bruhel Point, Westport, CA
These are listed from North to South, with the date of the visit(s), when I noted them:
Bruhel Point, S. of Westport
• Pullout at M 74.0 or 74.5
• There are picnic tables and benches and a trail to the cliff edge. If you walk the path S along the bluff there is access to the shore.
• Go at low tide to get out on the rocks. Good tidepools at low tide.
• There is a trail into the wetlands. Bring bug spray.

Lyndon La., north of Ft. Bragg  8/20/15
• Turn off Rte. 1 onto Lyndon La. Turn R (N) onto unpaved path before last house. The path makes a loop
• Park at the far end of the loop
• Take path W, cross haul road to several bluffs with rocky outcrops and beaches
• Tide pools, beach glass, very little abalone

Virgin Creek, N of Ft. Bragg
• Pullout N of Montessori school
• Woodpeckers along the trail
• Shore birds on beach and in mouth of Virgin Creek
• Phalarope, black turnstone, least sandpiper
• Tidepools

McKerricher State Park, Cleone Lake
• Entrance at M 64.87 for ranger station (no fee)
• Parking area for Lake Cleone
• Birdwatching around the pond, go counterclockwise to avoid closed section of boardwalk. On our second visit, we went clockwise and around the closed section. Not bad at all.
• Wrentit, orange crowned warbler, Virginia rail, Great blue heron, egret

McKerricher State Park, skip ranger station
• Turn off at M 63.81, W toward the water
• Parking and trail head are just S. of the street
• Wide sand beach for walking, swimming or birdwatching
• Sanderling, gulls, Townsend’s solitaire, Heerman’s gull, Western gull, hummingbirds along trail

McKerricher State Park, 7/19/15
• Turn W. from Rte 1 at mile 62.7, there’s a sign
• The beach is long and sandy with a few mussel shells. Very little for beachcombing.
• Park in furthest south lot and walk toward the seal viewpoint, or follow shore toward S. facing rocks

Coastal Access to beach south of Mckerricher State Park
• Trail from side of road goes W, crosses Haul Rd., continues W to the shore. Bluffs are low, beach is sandy
• Very good tide pools, not much beachcombing.

Pudding Creek, Coastal Access
• Just N of mile 62.0
• N. side of Pudding Creek near trestle bridge
• Large beach, good birding
• Try Boice Rd. Mile 58.50

Hare Creek Beach, S. end of Ft. Bragg, W of Hwy. 1
• Turn W. at Ocean View Dr, also access to Todd Pt. and College of the Redwoods
• Turn L (S) at first intersection, Harbor Ave. Park W. of trailhead
• OR park on Main St. Ft. Bragg by the N. End of Hare Creek ridge. Trail head is at N. end of bridge
• OR cross ridge toward S. and turn R (W) at first St, Old Coast Hwy, then right onto Cypress
• Parking and trailhead at narrow opening between board fence and split rail fence, this is unmarked. All routes descend to a very nice small beach

Belinda Point public access, terrific
• Turn W on Boice La. S of Mendocino Botanical Garden
• Turn S on Ocean Dr.
• Sign on R after Pacific Way
• Path runs between houses to the bluff
• Stairs to the beach, some glass, little driftwood, no abalone
• Continue S on Ocean Dr. just before the end at a cluster of Do Not Enter signs is great birdwatching: northern Flicker, Hairy and Downy woodpeckers, chestnut backed chickadee

Todd Point, Ft. Bragg
• Turn W. on Ocean View Dr south of Noyo Harbor
• Follow to end and park
• Pah runs along the bluffs, there are some picnic tables along the Noyo Harbor side of the park
• July 4th fireworks are here.
• We saw whates spouting and diving during August.
• There is a large cormorant rookery.
• You can climb down onto the rocks but it is steep
• Form the rocks it would be possible to fish
• We saw downy baby gulls here on 7/25/15

Pine Beach, from Pine Beach Inn
• Park by turquoise house of Ocean Ave. aprox M. 58
• Walk to far N portion of motel to start of path.
• Beach has fresh water stream and small lagoon
• No tide pools, abalone, glass, driftwood
• Lots of birds, chickadee, pygmy nuthatch, waxwings, plover, goldfinch, wilson’s warbler, flycatcher, Hutton’s vireo, yellow warbler

Jughandle N. Headlands, 7/21/15, 8/9 and 8/17/15
• Turn W. from Rte 1 onto Ocean Dr.
• Park on dirt opposite Pine Beach Inn
• We took the trail W from the parking area and came out at dramatic bluffs
• Beaches vary in difficulty of access, though the trail runs across one (Belden’s beach?)
• We walked as far as the point south of Jefferson Way and returned to the car via Jefferson and Rte. 1
• Beaches have some very private spots.
• Driftwood, no glass or abalone
• All beaches are sand.
• Pileated woodpecker along trail to headlands
• Semipalmated plover, least sandpiper, black phoebe, pygmy nuthatch, song sparrow, chestnut backed chickadee

Jughandle State Park, 6/28/15, 8/5/15
Snorkeling, sand beach
• All beaches on N side of park are sand
• To start snorkeling, turn R (N) at trail map by parking lot. Take first trail to the left (W) and follow to the trail down to the sandy beach on the N side of the point. Start on the beach and snorkel around the point toward the south.

Caspar Headlands-fishing, from the South
• Stop at station opposite Russian Gulch (E of Rte. 1) to pick up a permit for Caspar Headlands. This is annual so you only have to go once. It is probably good to do this just so the state has records that people use and enjoy Caspar Headlands, despite its small size.
• Back on Rte. 1, go N to Cabrillo Dr. (Rd. 409) just before (S of) the bridge over Caspar Creek.
• Follow road past beach and uphill until it meets S. Caspar Headlands Dr. Look for pullout indicated on Cal State Parks map and park.
• Walk toward the ocean, take the central path to areas C, D, E. We fished on the south facing rocks just after low tide.

Caspar Headlands Coastal Access, from the North
• Turn W. from Rte. 1 at Pt. Cabrillo exit
• Go in to beach
• Follow road up hill past beach
• Trail head is off S. Caspar Dr. There are three paths that branch onto the headlands
• This is where we saw abalone in a tidepool.
• To return, follow S. Caspar Dr. back around to the S/SE until you reach Pt. Cabrillo Rd.
• Pt. Cabrillo Dr. and Rte. 1 returns you to the highway by the entrance to Russian Gulch State Park

Caspar, 6/28/15
• Pacifica is the second right turn (W) off the Caspar Rd. as you go south from the Caspar Rd. turnoff from Hwy 1.
• Park behind healing center on Pacifica and you will see trail head.
• Trail goes sto an overlook over a stony beach, but there is no way down to it. The trail is bordered by a fence on one side and a huge brush pile along the other side.
• There is no beach access from Seadrift Dr.
• There is no coast access along Pacifica beyond the healing center parking and trail head.

Caspar Cemetery
• Turn W. from Rte. 1 at Pt. Cabrillo exit, Rd. 409
• Look for turnoff on the left. There is a barrier, but space to park.
• Follow path to cemetery.
• Southernmost occurrence of sitka spruce, preferred feeding for crossbills
• We didn’t see any, but it is beautiful.

Russian Gulch North Side, 6/30/15, 7/26/15
• Turn off Ret. 1 at Russian Gulch State Park, mile 53.
• Turn left, pass guard booth (pay or show tag), take right fork.
L. fork is parking, Center road goes to the beach
• Follow right fork to farthest parking area, end of road
• Follow trail past blowhole, take right hand forks
• Fish off the north side of the rocks.

Russian Gulch South side, 6/27/15
Fishing
• Turn W off Rte 1 at R 52.00, road goes about 1 m to a dead end. Scuba and abalone divers depart from a spot about halfway along. Park at the dead end and walk back to the South Headlands Trail.
• Follow this trail W to the grassy point for fishing. You have to get down to the rocks but there are a couple of steep paths. Both N & S sides have good spots
• Tidepools here: mussel, sea anemone, tiny snail, crab
Cypress Drive, north of Mendocino
• No parking in the neighborhood
• There are access paths on either side of houses at the end of the street, by the Sea Dreams motel.
• Are these ocean access even if they are marked No Access?
• Try Drifters Reef Rd.

Brewery Gulch Rd.
• Just S of Big River Rd.
• Several access points
• Entry path goes to a broad overlook of Mendocino town and Big River beach
• This is a good place to take law chairs
• No access to rocks/beach that we could see.

Spring Ranch
• Access from pullout at mile 49.0 (aprox) on Rt. 1
• Trail goes to the water and then right, follow to end to see sea lions
• Left goes to rocks for hiking.
• Peterson Lane-park off Hwy 1 in cleared area.
• Walk west to find path to VanDamme beach (S); Spring Ranch path is N.

VanDamme State Park, hiking 7/20/15
• Take Hwy 1 S of Mendocino to Little River Rd., turn East
• Park at Pygmy Forest, the road has become Airport Rd. at this point
• We hiked the Old Logging Rd. Trail
• On a later visit we hiked the Fern Canyon Trail
• 3 hrs. round trip including stop for lunch at the bottom.

VanDamme State Park, beach combing
• Easy parking access from Rte.1 just south of Spring Ranch
• Best beachcombing for abalone
• Some beach glass

Little River
• No coastal access from N of Albion to Little River
• There may be access W of Little River Post Office, very small headland can be accessed from the P.O.

Little River Cemetery
• Path runs through the cemetery from the cemetery gate.
• W of the cemetery is a blow hole and a large sinkhole. It is possible to enter the sinkhole.
• There is a trail and a rope but it is steep and a small area at the bottom once you get there.
• The trail goes to the bluffs but the overlook is very small
• No shore access
• Nuthatches, chickadees
Dark Gulch Beach and Navarro Bluff via stairs, Heritage House Coastal Access
• Turn W off Hwy 1 at M45.25. This turnoff is easy to miss, it is unmarked between a wooden fence and a driveway
• Stairs turn and end at the beach, which is invisible from the road
• Beautiful beach, little abalone, no glass
• M. 44.87 just south of this marker on the W side of the Rd (Rte. 1) is a pine tree with Christmas bulbs on it. You can pull over and look at it.

Navarro Headlands
• Pullout just south of R. 41.95 on Rte. 1.
• Beautiful bluff walk, with one area on the point furthest SW that has an especially wide range of wild flowers.

Navarro by the Sea, just south of Albion
• Mostly sand beach, some gravel
• No abalone or glass
• Huge collection of driftwood, some made into fanciful structures by visitors
• On Hwy 1 just S of junction with Rte. 128, turn right (W) at M 40.15
• Go all the way to the end of the road to park. There are restrooms and trash cans
• To climb the bluffs on the old coast Hwy trail, look for the trailhead at .35 mi from the turnoff
• A sign on the old road says “closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic” follow old road up the bluffs

Greenwood State Beach, 8/13/15
• Parking in the town of Elk, across from the store, M 34.05
• Easy downhill path to the beach
• Picnic tables on the bluff and one at the beach
• Lots of driftwood, some sea glass
• Spectacular views

Manchester State Beach, 8/12/15
• Kiney Rd. M. 21.40 goes in to parking and rest room
• Trail to beach is long
• Beach is very long, like a beach in SoCal
• Lots of driftwood, but no abalone or sea glass.

Pt. Arena pier
• We went on a cold day and enjoyed having lunch near the pier

Tipping point of the seasons

It was yesterday. I woke up to pale light on my pillow, not the bright sun that has been there every day in February. By 9:30 am the mist had burned off and the day was blazing hot as usual. Today, in contrast, the same mist was there in the morning, and was still in the air during our walk, not burning off until 10:30 am.

20160225_085946sm By the time I went out to swim at 3:30 pm, the mist was back, curling over the beach and cooling the air. The neighbors who have been on the beach until 6 pm lately were all gone, the last few packing up their umbrellas. The waves were booming, the shore very rough.

The season is changing. School starts next week.

The mist will stay late in the morning and arrive earlier in the afternoon until one day it lasts all day. Then it will be winter.

20160225_090158Blue footed booby.

Winding Down on the beach

Now that I have a hot glue gun and access to sea shells, I had to finish up my projects. (I’ve never had a glue gun before–only burned myself once.)

My other couple: Mr. and Mrs. Rumpole

The Rumpoles at the museum.

Ahem, you look like.. ‘she who must be obeyed.’ “Silly man! Of course I am.”

The fossil at the museum was even larger than Mrs. Rumpole.

 

(We have to have some silliness.)

Meanwhile, the festival of Our Lady of Lourdes

What a whirl! Not only more trips to Caral, but more events associated with the Fiesta de la Virgen de Lourdes than I would have imagined.

There were two body board tournaments, sand soccer, kids activities, beach volleyball, the serenade, a procession, food booths, caballos de paso, and dancers! That was after bingo and before a baby shower. We haven’t had such an action packed weekend that I can remember, particularly since we were away from Barranca last year at this time.

2.13.16 Fiesta dancers-020 2.13.16 Fiesta dancers-018sm

 

 

The horses and dancers were impressive (so was the heat). I had never seen the Norteño dance between a woman and a rider on horseback.

 

We offered the Marinera dancers the shade of our front porch to gather and warm up.

2.13.16 Fiesta dancers-007smThe dancers were very good.

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2.13.16 Fiesta dancers-014Our friend and neighbor Maria Luisa Lauzzeri is a competitive Marinera dancer.

There were dancers whose ancestors came from Puno based on the dance, usually done in that region. Their regalia looked better suited to a cold day at high altitude than a hot day on the beach, but they danced with passion.

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The close of the dance was strange. The music turned to rap and the women waved V-signs by their eyes. Your guess is as good as mine. Probably a youthful update in symbolism.

2.13.16 Fiesta dancers-069smWe ate chancho al palo for lunch, along with some duck with rice, except that it was chicken, and some other things. By then it was way too hot, so Jonathan napped and I took a swim. By the time we sat on the porch to watch the sunset, the breeze cooled us and the sight of the red-orange sun subsiding into the ocean was as mesmerizing as ever.

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Beach bizarre

Our daily stroll down the beach and back keeps us up to date with what’s going on, new construction, decoration for impending festivals, posters for loud weekend night club shows (night club may be dignifying these places beyond what they deserve). We say hello to friends and neighbors and beach comb our way back to the house along the shore.

Yesterday was different. Just after starting out, we saw two truckloads of police and security people on the front terrace of a restaurant just down the street. It was a tax raid, slapping a big “Closed for non-payment of restaurant tax,” on the door. This usually means that an undercover agent ate at the restaurant and was not given a boleta, a receipt that is recorded and is the basis for tax payments. Two women with clipboards stood talking to people from the restaurant, while a circle of bullet-proof vest wearing armed men encircled them. Scary. We moved along.

Further down, at the public water tap, where there are usually women washing clothes and men washing moto-taxis, four men were butchering a cow. Yes, an entire cow, right on the steps down to the water. Talk about a mess! We moved on.

Just then, the two trucks of police zoomed by us and alighted to surround another beach restaurant. It’s a bit disturbing to see automatic weapons on the street. Not the usual thing at all.

Fast forward to the next day. We set out this morning and found both restaurants open, no stickers or other signs of police presence at either place, despite the twenty or more operatives who visited each one yesterday. Were the raids worth it? At the water tap, all had been cleaned up, there was no sign of butchery and its aftermath, just water running out of the two pipes as usual. I think this is where magical realism comes from. You see things and then you wonder. Could this really have happened?

Call me a liar

After reporting on Caral at 2 in the afternoon when it was about 95° out, I said I would never go there  again in the summer.

I went again. And again.

I was asked by a good friend to accompany three visitors, black belt karate experts, one from Peru, and two from Uruguay to see Caral. How could I say no? A huge archaeology fan, Edgardo visited Caral on a previous trip to Peru. He’s visited the Parthenon, the Coliseum, and ranks Caral with them, and he couldn’t wait to visit with his son. We left the house at 8:30 am, arrived by 9:15 am, while the day was still cool. We took the entire tour and didn’t leave the site until about 12:30 pm. Yes, it was hot by then, but the first two hours were fine. It helped that we hitched a ride back and didn’t walk, since the distance from the start and end of the tour is about a mile from the footbridge and parking area.

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We are crossing the Supe River, looking back at Caral.

 

 

 

 

 

Barely a week later, I returned to Caral AGAIN, with friends Alaka Wali and Rick Hubbard. I had promised to go out with them quite a while ago, even though I decried visiting in summer. We left early and decided to take a ride both ways to the site. Unlike the open top truck, which wasn’t around, the ride in an ancient, underpowered, overloaded mototaxi on an unpaved, cobble-strewn road was a loud, lengthy, bone-rattling experience.

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We have a friend who  says, “What fresh hell is this?”

I was wondering, myself.

 

 

 

I was so impressed by our ride out to the visitor center, that I went to call Carlos, our driver, and ask him to go see if he could cross the river and get closer so that we didn’t have to repeat this process.

Naturally, there was no cell service.

It turns out that there actually is phone service, but only out on the site, so we set off with our guide, Agustin, and another group.

20160212smI managed to contact Carlos, then became ill and retreated to the restrooms. Alaka and Rick were able to see some of the site, Carlos was able to cross the river and we did not have to repeat our journey from hell across the cobbled nightmare called the road. I will never go to Caral again without checking the river crossing. I will also pray the river is always low. Sorry farmers.

Without making any blanket statements, I believe that it is highly unlikely that I will go to Caral again this month. Or this year.

Bingo

A couple of years ago I attended a fundraising bingo put on by neighbors who knitted clothing for people in the highlands who need warm items. Mittens, caps, scarves, even sweaters. I had a lot of fun at the fund raiser and met several local women I enjoyed verymuch. Later, I found no more bingos were planned because so many of the women in the knitting group couldn’t knit anymore, so there was no reason to raise money to purchase yarn. I was happy to find that a bingo is part of this year’s festival of Our Lady of Lourdes. She has a strong following on the beach.

Each person brings a small gift for the prize table. Re-gifting is highly acceptable, and prizes ranged from a bottle of shampoo to a 4 place settings of stoneware. The prizes are part of the fun, but any prize is a good one. Turnout was excellent. Each person donates 6 soles to the cause per bingo card. People played 1-3 cards.

A big table of the under-21 set played, too. They may have won the lion’s share of prizes. Some of the rest of us may have a tiny bit of cognitive decline, but we concentrated on our bingo cards. If more than one person had bingo at the same time, there was a drawing of bingo numbers between the winners, with the highest number taking the prize. Fortunately, there were lots of prizes and we played for over two hours before all the prizes were won. The “apagon” is the last, biggest prize, and to win you have to fill an entire card, not just a row. It means “blackout”, ending the evening with a splash.

Art supplies for the grandkids.
Someone is embarassed by his prize.
I won a clock.
Alexa won dish towels.

By the time bingo broke up at around 10 pm, everyone had chatted with their friends and relatives, had a snack, played bingo, caught up on what all their friends and neighbors and their families were doing, where their children and grandchildren were spending the summer vacation, when they will be in Barranca, and otherwise had a great, sociable evening.