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.

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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?

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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...

Egg hunt

Well, guys, the lawn is mowed. All this yardwork is tiring! 

I'm hungry; let's have lunch.

How about omelettes? A nice, fluffy omelette sounds great. Fresh eggs, cheese, some ham in there...

 Hey! No eggs.

No eggs here, either!

We'll just have to steal some from the chicken.

Ooooh, omelettes for lunch with stolen eggs, even better.

There she is!

She's sitting on something!

Your eggs or your life, chickie!

Oh, my goodness! Help! thieves! Brigands!

What's this? A ball of yarn?

But of course it's a ball of yarn. Fine merino, in fact. You don't expect me to sit on an egg all day, do you? Seriously! Those things are hard as rocks. My poor tender bottom. Bruised black & blue! 

Not to mention if it cracks. Then you've got an awful mess in your nest, and this one is so perfectly situated under the cherry tree. I'd have to find a new spot near the apricot, and the view just isn't as good there. An egg. The idea! Goodness me, I switched to yarn ages ago. Socks are good too: folded socks. Or a stuffed animal. See? That's very comfy.

Hey! Cutitout! Get'eroffme!

I think there's peanut butter for sandwiches, Laars.

Yeah, let's go have sandwiches.