Santy was here!

Hey, look at all of these nifty presents the folks sent us!

 It's Christmas!

Yea!!!!

Oh, feel this wonderful chenille scarf. Love that red&black! 

And black walnuts! MMMMMM

That nice soap is for you, Laars!

Are you saying something?

Yeah - Thanks Mom & Dad!

Lima Bun

I'm in Lima!

As soon as I work myself free of the architectural details, I'm heading to the 1st International Congres on  Breast and Colorectal Cancer in Peru. 

At the 1st ICBCCP, with Esteemed Colleagues Eva and Jenny. 

We are working hard. Really! We have badges and everything.

Here I am chairing the Coffee Break Session, with Alexandra, Nancy, Professor Dominguez, Mom Dominguez, Mev, Mabel, and Jean-Baptiste (who does not, thankfully, have a dog).

Mom makes really good dinners!

Michel and family, my generous Chief of Transportation. Thanks for getting us on the right buses!

Lost Civilization of Buns

After Cuzco we explored another archeological site: Caral. 

Caral is all the rage now. It's too recently discovered to be in all the guidebooks, so only people who know go there. Nancy and I now belong to this elite.

I'm glad we have a guide to the ruins, because otherwise I wouldn't make head nor cottontails of what's what. This is the town clock, apparently.

And that's me & Nance, in front of some other significant item. It's remarkably round, is all I know.

We didn't stay the night in Caral because all the hotels seem to be piles of interesting rubble. Instead we stayed in Huacho and took a walk along the beach. These kids were on their way home to dinner and wanted to know all about us. Showing your tummy must be some special Peruvian ritual greeting.
Next: Lima!

Did I mention Roast Guinea Pig?

 Why, yes! Piles of them, stuffed with herbs and spices, just waiting to be popped back into the oven for a last crisping & reheat.

And there you are!

Bon appetit.

Bun in the Peruvian highlands

Now there's Peru for you. High plains with snowcapped mountains in the distance.

Enigmatic ruins.

It's a fun ruin, but the steps are for giants!

Salt mines; got your salt mines.

And roast guinea pig! Very tasty, and only slightly cannibalistic.

.

We're going where?

These are my new buddies Helle and Christina. They do research on Lynch syndrome & stuff, but today we are leaving all that behind to go exploring in Peru. 

Yes!!!

We are on the train to Machu Picchu even now!!!

 This is The Train Guy.

 And ZIP!

Well, not so much as zip, as a slow and easy clackety-clack across the fields and down the valleys, and then off the train in a town full of tourists and the people who try to sell them things. Then on the bus, bang-thump (careful of those other busses coming down - I thought this was a one-lane road) up up the mountain and here we are.

 Machu Picchu

This place is so awesome that no exclaimation points are necessary. I would just have to put rows and rows of them.

 The scenery is fantastic.

 The ruins are really cool, with niches to display the Sacred Rabbit and to make offerings to him.

 Back in the village we had a great lunch and a look around. 

For the whole story of our South American Adventure, see Have Genes Will Travel (in the coming days), and I'll be back with more in a few days.

The Apple Grabber

Those apples are really up high.

But they look really good.

My superhero cape is temporarily on the fritz, 

but I am in luck!

Nancy has invested in this cool grabber thing.

Easy as pie!

And pie might just be on the menu.

I'll just stay and pick a peck of apples.

Um, it's fun up here, but I'm ready to come down now.

...

Hey, it's a great view, but could I come down?

...

Nance?

ow!

Thanks, but ow!

Harvesting Mirabelles

 Hey, Bjorn, will you give me a hand picking these mirabelle plums, please?

 Ah, sure. I'll be up there in a minute. I'll just start off by tasting these here in the basket, see if they're good. I wouldn't want us to spend all morning picking bad plums.

Aren't you done tasting yet? I could use a hand here!

Inna minnit! Ya gotta test a representative sample. What if 1% of the plums are bad? That requires a lot of testing. And what if the different branches of the tree are different? They don't all get the same amount of sunlight. Could make a big difference.

 That rat!

 Are you done testing them yet?

Ah, almost! I'll be up there in a minute!

Too late. The box is full and it's time to go.

OOooohhh, my stomach hurts. The plums are all good, every one. Why is it that all together in my tummy they are bad?

Hide & Seek

I see you there in the rhubarb, Astrid! 

 Gotcha, Laars! Too, too obvious: a rat in the trash.

 But where's Bjorn? I've looked everywhere!

I guess he's the winner today.

I knew this would be perfect! Who'd look for a rat in the clean laundry?

.

Egg Hunt redux

Alright rats, it's Easter, and it's time to see if the Easter Bunny hid any eggs in the yard.

Chocolate ones?

Gold ones?

Who knows!

 I found a black rock.

 I found a ball of merino yarn.

 There's a seashell in the forsytha.

 I found some ads...

Our basket is not exactly filling with chocolate.

Hey!

What do you have there, Chickie?

I have laid an egg at last! 

 Oh, my! That's a beauty!

Pure dark chocolate, with mini chocolate eggs inside.

I wonder what the rats will say when they realize that I said if the Easter Bunny left any eggs. I never said there actually were any...