Kad's Life

June 25, 2008

I got to test out our new program, called "Backstage Penguin Promenade"!  Guests get to go back with a penguin biologist (Adam) to the penguins' suite.  Get this: the penguins have a flat-screen TV where they watch Harry Potter movies, Finding Nemo, and Shark Tale.  They have a disco ball, a bubble machine, lots of toys, and of course swimming pools!  Talk about spoiled!

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June 15, 2008

Father's Day @The Florida Aquarium!  Everyone came to visit!  Eric, Lynn, Amanda X 2, Brett, Adrian, Amy, Mike and baby Sara!  I showed them around the Aquarium, and then here's the best part.  We went to Tijuana Flats for dinner!  So Yum-O!

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May 30, 2008

Went back to Disney with Eric, Jamie and Suzanne!  This time, we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios and then moved on to EPCOT.  We went on the new Toy Story Mania ride, which was so much fun, even though I lost to Eric!  The best was when we had lunch at the 50's Prime-Time Cafe and the waitress made Suzanne eat all her peas (after she had hidden them in her pot-pie)!  Oh and we saw the shuttle launch from the east coast and we saw it go up right behind the Mission Space pavilion at EPCOT.  That was cool too!

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May 8, 2008

As part of my job training, I HAD to go swimming in the coral reef exhibit at The Aquarium.  It was so awseome!  I got to put on a wetsuit, mask and regulator and check out all the fishies up close.  Some of them (the French angelfish and the blue tangs) were so much brighter and more beautiful than I had imagined.  I also got to swim right above our spotted moray eel.  I was able to see into the gallery and wave to the kids which was really cool.  I'm so used to seeing all this from the other side, but now I will be better able to promote our "Swim With The Fishes" program to guests!

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Apr. 28, 2008

On our last day in Peru, we flew from Cuzco back to Lima.  I managed to take some pictures of the Andes from the plane! 

When we got back to Lima, we went to lunch with Donna and Millie and said all of our goodbyes to the rest of the group.  We did a little more shopping and got ready for our flight back to Miami!

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Apr. 27, 2008

Today we spent the whole day exploring the Sacred Valley.  We went to the town of Ollantaytambo to explore the Incan ruins there and also explore the town.  There was a big weaving contest going on there so we saw a lot of women in colorful clothes from the surrounding mountains.  Then we had a really nice rafting trip on the Urubamba River.  After rafting, we had a picnic lunch along the river and there was a huge bowl of guacamole!  Yum.  Oh, and a really yummy hot tea made with rum and key lime juice. 

After lunch we stopped at a local Aha Wasi, where they make chicha.  Chicha is a type of beer made from fermented corn and it's very strong and very cheap so the locals love it.  It's apparently an acquired taste.  They also had an entire room filled with guinea pigs!  We visited a pottery shop and explored the village of Urubamba and rode around town in their little mototaxis!

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Apr. 26, 2008

This morning, I got up at the crack of dawn so I could catch one of the first buses back up to Machu Picchu.  I wanted to see it in the early light before it got crowded, so I hiked up to the guard tower and sat on one of the green terraces facing the snowy peaks of the Andes.  There wre tons of swallows flying around the ruins and Llamas grazing nearby.  After an hour, I met up with the rest of the group and we hiked up the Inca Trail to the Sun Gate.  It was an uphill hike with amazing views of Machu Picchu in the distance.  When we got to the Sun Gate, we got to see Machu Picchu the way the Incas saw it when they arrived via the Inca Trail.  I wish I could have photographed the beautiful iridescent butterflies that accompanied us along the trail, but pictures never would have done them justice anyway.

After leaving Machu Picchu, back on the train to the town of Urubamba.  We checked into our gorgeous hotel and then had dinner with a local family.  We drank chicha morada, a sweet drink made from boiled purple corn.  And the entree?  Roasted guinea pigs!  It was yum-o!  The little girl sitting next to Donna ate the head!  Which is apparently the best part.

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April 25, 2008

Ok, here are the Machu Picchu pix!  We left Cuzco this morning on a bus to another town called Ollantaytambo.  There, we boarded a train which took us into the jungle surrounding Machu Picchu.  We got off in Aguas Calientes and had lunch before boarding another bus which took us on a scary scary road up the mountain to Machu Picchu.  It was worth it though because Machu Picchu is every bit as stunning as we'd hoped.  We arrived there in the afternoon and stayed til closing, when it was just starting to get dark.  Our tour guide Raul explained all the features of this ancient city, including the hitching post of the sun (big sundial), the baths, the temple of the condor, the temple of the sun (captures the June solstice), etc.  I even saw some wildlife up there: lizards and viscachas (related to chinchillas).  Oh, and lots of huge, gorgeous pink orchids! 

After seeing the ruins, we returned to Aguas Calientes to reflect and eat dinner.  I had alpaca again, it was yum-o!

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April 24, 2008

Now I feel refreshed.  We got on the bus this morning to go to the village of Pisac.  On the way, we stopped at a beautiful overlook to take some pictures of the mountains.  Then we made a stop at an alpaca/llama farm!  That was awesome, we got to feed them alfalfa and I got to bottle feed a baby alpaca!  So cute!  Then I ate one for dinner, they taste good too!

In Pisac we strolled around the huge market area and snacked on fresh-baked empanadas.  Then we went above the town to the ruins.  These were the most gorgeous ruins so far, lots of Inca farming terraces and even running water which was engineered b the Incas for their baths.  Very cool.  We had a picnic lunch at the ruins, it was sunny and perfect. 

Then, back in Cuzco, I sat in the courtyard of the hotel and drank a cup of coca tea while the afternoon thunderstorm was approaching.  Dad and I went back to the plaza for our last night in Cuzco.  We saw the twelve-cornered stone in one of the Inca walls, which fit together like huge puzzle pieces.  And we had coffee in a cafe while there was a festive parade going on in the plaza!  Lots of music and dancing and colorful costumes!  It was a perfect ending to our time in Cuzco.

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Apr. 23, 2008

This morning I woke up and had a hot cup of coca tea, to help with the altitude.  Then we went to see inside the cathedral at Plaza de Armas.  There's a painting of The Last Supper in there and guess what they're eating - guinea pig!  Awesome.  Then  we took a bus out of the city to a ruin called Saqsaywaman (don't even try pronouncing it).  It was built on a hill right above the city of Cuzco, so it was nice to see the city from above.  It's a lot bigger than I had oriinally thought.  We visited another ruin - a ceremonial temple called Q'enqo, and then stopped at a giant store where they make/sell goods made from Alpaca (like a Llama but with softer fur).  Oh, and we also got to participate in a religous healing ceremony with a local curandero (medicine man).  We made offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth - she loves candy and alcohol!) and received a blessing.

Back in Cuzco, we stopped at the local market where they sell everything from fresh fruits from the Amazon, to meats, cheeses, dark chocolate, spices, etc.  After lunch, dad and I went to the Inka Museum, which had a ton of artifacts and replicas of pottery from the Inca Empire.  It also had some Inca mummies, which were pretty cool.  We had coffee at another cafe in the Plaza, and pizza from a local pizzeria.  Maybe it was the altitude, but I was so tired I went to bed at 9:00 like an 8-year-old!

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