yakity-yak-yak: My non-mid-life crisis: A reflection.

Since my last post was about me turning 50, it seems only natural that I should have a mid-life crisis.

I did not. I was (and am) perfectly happy to be 50.....well, not really, but I was not freaking out or ready to do anything crazy.....or so I thought, until a totally unplanned trip to Peru was thrust upon me.....

My daughters, Analise and Kaylee, as well as Kaylee's former mission comp, Olivia, had planned a trip to Peru. I was NOT planning to go. And I was sitting in the rocking chair recovering from a long run last June, when I got a face time call from Analise who had flown to Peru separately from Kaylee and Olivia. She said it appeared that Kaylee and Olivia would not make it….they were numbers eleven and twelve on the standby list with only 10 open seats on the next flight, and this was their last chance to make it to Lima before Analise left for the rest of the trip. She wondered if I wanted to come…..Yikes! No, I did not want to come. That was way too scary for me. But I was very worried about Analise being alone. I tried to see if I could find anyone else to go….not really. Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, I had a lot of phone calls/face times between Kaylee and Analise and did some searching on the web, and finally called the airlines, and somehow was put on a flight that was not even listed on-line that was cheap and was the LAST seat, and within 30 minutes of the phone call to the airlines, I was in the car on the way to the airport. Kent didn’t even know I was going; he had left for scout camp that morning at 2 a.m., and had no cell service. Luke was not yet home from EFY, and as I was running out the door (I was literally packing WHILE I was on the phone booking the flight), I hollered at Trent, “I’m going to Peru.” I didn’t even really know that best way to get to the airport, long-term park etc, but on the way to Vegas, I called my brother David, and he met me at an In and Out Burger close to the airport and then took my car to drop me off, and took my car back to his place, so I had curb-side service to the airport. Then just as I was getting ready to board, I got a message from Kaylee saying, “WE GOT ON THE FLIGHT! WE ARE GOING TO PERU!” So since my ticket was non-refundable; I was going too! I must admit I was a bit stressed that since I wasn’t taking Kaylee’s place, I would not be able to get on the connecting flights, bus rides, tours, etc. that they had booked in Peru, but Analise and Kaylee and Olivia took such good care of me, and just got on their phones and figured everything out, and I was able to get on everything with them. (Which may or may not have been a blessing haha…..this trip was definitely designed for the 20-something age-group…..hiking, mountain biking, zip-lining, and little sleep.) So within 12 hours of the first call, I was in Peru! The whole trip was amazing, fun, and worked out perfectly….it was just like it was all planned.....and since I don't speak or understand Spanish (the girls all do), if there were any problems, I was usually blissfully unaware.

Rather than make this already-long post longer, I'll let pictures and videos tell the rest of my unplanned "non-mid-life-crisis" trip.

Note: You Tube was the best way to share the videos, but you'll get several "additional viewing options" after each short Peru clip.....

Our first nights accommodations in the jungle

Kaylee-2nd floor loft of our jungle bungalow-note the mosquito netting

Outside our jungle AIR B&B-Analise-Bananas in the jungle

Olivia, Analise, and Kay-interesting tree-hiking in the jungle. We got caught in a downpour.

ceviche!

Puerto Maldonado

Boat trip down the Tambopata River (a tributary to the Amazon) on the way to our jungle hike/canoe trip

Muddy Rainy hike through the Amazon Rain Forest.....we saw monkeys!

After several hours of hiking in the rain forest (which is very appropriately named-LOTS of rain), we boarded these canoes for a real "jungle cruise" down a river to a lake which was home to 6 types of piranha, river otters, electric eels, black caymen (which are an endangered species that looks like alligators), sting rays etc. etc. We were lucky to see an entire family of river otters, lots of exotic birds, and black caymen right next to our canoe. The guide took us to a spot where we were allowed to swim.....the girls did......I didn't......just waded in to my waist.

Family of sea otters. This lake used to just be a "bend" in the Tambopata River, but the jungle had "closed in" around it, making it into a lake.

We ate lunch here, after our muddy hike and canoe ride. We were fed chicken and rice stuff wrapped in a banana leaf. (It was really yummy)

After our muddy hike, we came up on a little snack stand in the middle of the jungle-which was weird-but those types of places were all over in Peru-even in thejungle. The owner brought us 4 Cokes compliments of some Peruvians who smiled at us when the owner came out of the shop and handed us the Cokes while we sat on a log. We had been told to occasionally drink a Coke in Peru to "kill" any "bad stuff" that we may have eaten.....so at least the gesture wasn't wasted.

After an over-night bus ride over the Andes, we ended up at 4 a.m. in high and cold Cuzco (It was winter in Peru) at this hostel, where Analise and Olivia enjoyed some herbal tea, while we waited for our tour group to show up to start our next adventure.

Stop on the way up the mountain to our mountain biking adventure.

Bus ride up the mountain for our mountain biking adventure

Suited up, ready to mountain bike down the small winding road that can be seen behind us in the picture......35 miles from the top to the bottom with a BIG elevation drop.