I will raise my future children to believe this.

After spending a day or two becoming acclimated to the altitude, We set off to visit and stay on the small islands within Lake Titicaca, the largest and highest freshwater lake in the world

As if the name Titicaca wasnt funny enough, it ultimately flows out to Bolivia’s Lake Poopo (pronounced poo-poo)

Andysensei almost missed the boat

Our first stop was the small Island of Taquile, where we hiked a few miles along a stone path to find the village of male weavers (my own name,  I dont know what they call themselves)

I find some of my best vacations are just spent walking around doing nothing in particular

A hearty quinoa corn soup

And some Coca Tea

Followed by a little dancing. All in all, a great lunch. Then it was on to Amanti Island, where we each would bunk up with a local host family for a cultural exchange and to help do their farmwork

But first, more dancing!

The Three Amigos

Some more amigos

The remaining amigo

And the whole tour group

 

Our host family, who I amazed with sleight of hand and finger tricks from my childhood. I would highly recommend this if you get the chance!

 

After a fun filled weekend of wine, flight, and sandboarding, we began our tour proper, meeting the remaining 2 members of our group as well as the rest of the tour and set off for our first destination, Puno

At 3800m above sea level, it was an introduction to high altitude living and our first real glimpse of peruvian culture

The hats the women are wearing are actually modifications on the english bowler hat.  Bowler hats have been worn by Quechua and Aymara women in Peru and Bolivia since the 1920s when a shipment of bowler hats was reportedly sent from Europe to Bolivia via Peru for use by Europeans working on the construction of the railroads. The hats were found to be too small and were distributed to locals who have since put their own spin on them

Admittedly, the style is not for everyone

The local supermarket

We wandered about the city, taking in a multitude of sights along the way, but mostly becoming adjusted to the altitude

After getting a feel for the surrounding culture, we started really exploring

The Incas, much like the egyptians and the celts also practiced mummification, although due to a lack of written records we dont know how or why. However, all the mummies whether noble, common, or sacrifices, have been found with knees drawn up in the fetal position.

Then we decided to sample some local delicacies, like this quinoa mousse cake.

Next up was some alpaca steak covered in fried quinoa and alpaca skin and sauca berries

A side order of yucca, or what we took to calling “jenga fries”

And finally the piece de resistance, Cuy!

Or as its better known in english, guinea pig.

Quite the mouthful!

Ending the night by watching some traditional peruvian dances from around the country

We also saw a band with a humongous pan flute

But as they say, size isnt everything, it’s how you use it =P

 

After a long day of flight and sandboarding, we opted to spend the evening on a tour of several wineries, starting with Tacama

We began to sample a number of wines

A rather large number

Our Guide on this winery tour went by the name of big willie

Quite the rascal that one

A couple of bottles later, we were ready to head on to the next winery. But not before we got our hands dirty learning about how wine is made

Or, more accurately, our feet

We stomped the daylights out of those grapes, while being given copious amounts of pisco, and even samples of juice from the grapes we had just crushed. Yes, we drank our own dirty foot wine

We may have gotten a little tipsy

But in the end, we took it all down, like a sir.

 

A short distance from Ica where we were staying lies the small desert town of Huacachina. I am not exaggerating when I say small, that is quite literally the entire town you see laid out below you. As resort towns go, it is mostly aimed at backpackers and mostly for one type of activity

Sandboarding. Like snowboarding, but hotter.

We all piled into the dunebuggy, Aytch offering to drive and kindly being declined and set off for the surrounding hills

Then we grabbed our boards, waxed up the underside and set off on an awesome few hours of sandboarding

Wheeeeeee!

A very good day indeed

What has two thumbs and is back from sabbatical? THIS GUY!

Yes, in one of the wiser decisions of my life (and I dont mean that facetiously), I took some time from the job search to make the yearly trip abroad with friends, this time to South America, where we were off to Peru. The next handful of posts will be about that trip, and by the time I am done, hopefully the last post will be about a job. But I digress. We landed in Lima, where we stayed just long enough to have lunch and then set out for a 5 hour bus ride to Ica, near the desert. It would be our staging base for the next two days of adventure before beginning the big tour.

New additions to the travel group this year are two of my oldest friends, aytch and andysensei. I have known these guys since I was in elementary school, and my first trip abroad with a friend was to Japan with andy nigh on a decade ago. So this ought to be interesting.

First order of business was to down a pitcher of Pisco sours, which were….well, okay, not great, but still fun. Then we set about planning our activities on the ground. But before that…

foreign playplace!

My enabler in mischief.

Our first decision was to head out and flyover the Nazca lines

The Nazca lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the desert of southern Peru. Visible only from the air or atop the surrounding foothills, they were constructed with mathematical exactitude by sweeping aside the pebbles to reveal white gray ground underneath

The whale can be seen in the lower right corner

The astronaut

The monkey

 

Although discovered in 1927, the purpose of the lines remains unclear to this day. SOme scholars have proposed that they were meant to represent astrological data, constellations and planets as an early observatory

The hummingbird

 

others have theorized that they had religious significance and were meant to bring rain or other blessings to the harsh surroundings

The condor

hands

 

Still others have theorized that they were landing strips and welcome signs to extraterrestrials.

Above the hands and the tree you can see the highway running by and get an idea of the relative size of the lines. Though smaller than we had initially thought they were still quite impressive. We also got to listen to the pilot talk to us with unique peruvian slang…every other sentence started with “my friends”. 

Though no one knows their purpose, the lines remain quite prevalent around Nazca

Best. flyover. ever.

I’m a scotch fan. It’s true, I said it. Back in my younger days, couldnt stand the taste of beer, much less brown liquor. Then, on my entry into medical school, I suddenly found the incentive to drink. And the universe provided me with a wonderful teacher, one of my closest friends, Jayan, who tragically, is now deceased. One of the last gifts I received from him was a bottle of Aberlour 12 year single malt liquor. And my drinking life changed forever. 

So of course there was no way I was going to go to Scotland without partaking of the national drink!

Prepare to have a Scotch Whisky Experience!

First we went on a pirates of the carribean style ride in a whisky barrel, learning about the distilling process and signing yo ho yo ho, lets drink some whisky!

This was my favorite room on the ride.

After a brief tasting (to be fair, though brief, it was already the 4th tasting for us of the morning, and we were perhaps a little tipsy-hence lack of detail in these posts) we went on to see one of the largest scotch collections in the world. Please brace yourselves

Headless Monk Scotch on the right…

Golf Scotch center

The oldest bottles in the collection, almost entirely evaporated to the Angels

Yes, I drank all of that

And might have believed that barrel was also full of scotch, or that I had developed super strength. Things get hazy at this point, but use the redness of my face to light your way home

 

I spent about 300 on Scotch to bring back with me, including An Noc Peter Arkle limited 1st edition, Mortlach Flora and Fauna and Ben Riadh 15 year…all single malts, all difficult to get outside of the UK and all delicious. They have been added to my current collection which also includes the standard Aberlour 12 year, Lagavulin 16, Ardberg 10, Cutty Sark, and The only blend in my collection, a bottle of Johnny Blue.

Other adventures were had that day, but with the warmth in my belly and the smile on my face, I have all the memories I need.

Slainte! (pronounced slan-ja) to all of you, i’ve inspired myself to have a glass of scotch before bed.

 

Having hiked up the volcano known as Arthurs seat, Brian and I stopped off at the local pub to wet our whistles with a wee dram of whisky, and then proceeded to Camera Oscura, a museum of optical illusions near the top of the Royal Mile

Army of Darkness

Coneheads

Keanu Reeves impersonation

The creepiest thing you will see today. Just look at my soulless eyes

And here is what I would look like as an asian

Optical Illusions are fun!

Monjo Brian

The final frontier

Heatwave!

More about scotlands history coming later, happy November!

Top O The Morning! (One of many stereotypical Irish phrases I never heard along with “Faith and Begorrah!” and “No thanks, I’m the designated driver”). But I digress. The Next morning, top, bottom, or otherwise, Brian and I set off for the airport!…To rent a car

You see, we learned the hard way that practically nobody in Europe drives automatic. And as we dont drive stick, there were a limited number of places for us to obtain transportation to explore cork on our own. But we persevered and eventually…

Blarney Castle!

The Front looked quite daunting so we thought we might try sneaking in through the tunnels

That didnt work out so well as the prison tunnels were long, cold, and damp. No, I am going to say they were downright dank. Dreary, even.

Of course, Blarney Castle is famous for the Blarney Stone, granting the garrulous gift of gab on whatever guy or gal goes for it.

Now I dont know about you, but in my head, the Blarney stone was always some sort of seat, a flat stone kind of like a pond skipping stone, or the stone in which excalibur was held. Therefore whoever kissed it drew out the gift like the proverbial King Arthur, but with their tongue instead of their arm. I know, I was a weird kid,

As it turns out, it is set into the castle wall itself, necessitating you to hang upside down and contemplate what other bodily fluids might have come in contact with it over the years.

As the story goes, Cormac Teige McCarthy, the builder of Blarney Castle, being involved in a lawsuit, appealed to Clíodhna for her assistance. She told MacCarthy to kiss the first stone he found in the morning on his way to court, and he did so, with the result that he pleaded his case with great eloquence and won. Thus the Blarney Stone is said to impart “the ability to deceive without offending.” MacCarthy then incorporated it into the parapet of the castle.

Of course, Mr P, had to pass that opportunity, being afraid of heights

We felt that while the castle was exciting, the guardrails just eliminated the thrill. There was no risk, no danger!

Hmm, this looks promising.

Turns out it was full of things rare as nightshade and hemlock, to those as common as garlic (which can act as a blood thinner)

A quick climb up the lookout tower, and we set off for the Next Post, the Druid Garden!

I have been blessed to travel quite a bit this year. India, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Ireland, Scotland…looking back I dont know how I got so lucky. Each trip was remarkably different, not only in location and culture, but in whom I traveled with…my close friends, my girlfriend, my brother. Each one brought something different to the table, totally changed my experience of the country, and made it impossible to imagine doing with anyone else. Just wanted to take a moment to count my blessings. Anyway, onward to the tomfoolery

Arising early the next morning, Brian and I set off for Northern Ireland! After a quick breakfast of course

Our first stop, the Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge in Antrim.

This sums up my feelings about the experience pretty well. We could all use a little more wobbly bridges and discovering scaryness

Doesnt seem that bad, does it?

It’s a long way down to be wandering on a plank between two pieces of rope that were only added for tourists. This bridge used to be utilized for fishermen, who crossed it to reach the nearby island, a popular salmon fishing spot

Ireland truly has 100 shades of green

Just me and my potato, looking incredibly pensive and lonely

This is the softest grass it has ever been my pleasure to roll around in like a puppy. Read all the entries from the trip and you will eventually see a video of me doing just that!

After the rope bridge, we took a short drive over to the Giants Causeway.

Seen from afar, the causeway doesnt appear all that impressive, a simple strip of land jutting out to the sea. As the legends go the Irish Giant Finn Mcool, and his Scottish counterpart would shout at each other over the distance of the sea separating them

RAWR!

At one point, Finn threatened to come over to scotland to fight the giant and began building a series of steps across the sea, only to stop halfway when he realized just how large the scottish giant was, and retreat back home

But the scottish giant was having none of that, so he began the crossing himself, while Finn ran, hid, and told his wife

She came up with a clever plan, to dress Finn in the clothes of a baby, and place him in the bed of their child

Then, when the scottish giant arrived spoiling for a fight, the wife instead offered him coffee and told him her husband was out at the moment, but he was welcome to stay for tea and postpone the murder until Finns return. Bemused, he agreed

However, when a cry was heard from the next room, he ran in to see the biggest baby he had laid eyes upon and figuring that if the baby was that large, Finn must be even bigger, and not worth fighting. So he left, destroying the bridge behind him, leaving only the steps from Finns front porch behind

Also, a piece of his ear is somewhere still laying about.

In fact these natural rock formations were instead caused by volcanic eruptions and lava flow splitting basalt stones into this roughly hexagonal shape as lava flows hit each other

An impressive place to be no matter what the story of its origin, thinks Mr P

Castle on the Sea

Our next and last stop of the day was Belfast, one of the six counties of ireland that is still part of the UK rather than independent

These murals commemorate various sides of the fight for Irish independence, the loyalists and the IRA doing battle to determine the fate of a free Ireland

A lot of tragedy is quite literally, as well as metaphorically buried in this town

The old courthouse and prison stand as silent testaments to the horrors man can wage on his neighbor

This was all explained to us by the famous black cab tours of belfast, taxi rides given by those who grew up during what is only referred to as “The Troubles”

Even today, a large wall separate the protestant and catholic parts of town to prevent scrimmaging in a place where tempers still run hot beneath the surface. But we left our mark on the peace wall, two brothers who though we often fight, still come together for whats important

One of many memorial gardens to honor the dead from both sides who lost their lives fighting for what they believed in

All in all Mr Joyce, I think it would make a great story. Mr Joyce? Mr Joyce?