Our Last PWE Post

So this is it- Missy's and my last blog entry from Peruvian Wedding Extravaganza 2010. We were super-bummed to leave Cusco (and Sara & Daniel) this morning, although I got in one last run through the ruins above town, and we had breakfast with the Bustamantes at a cute cafe/ bakery near the plaza. Check out Daniel's ridiculously giant frappaccino in the picture.

The Cusco airport was as fun and efficient as ever... although we did get in another chocolate stop (another year, another truffle at the Cusco airport for the Walters sisters!) and cracked up to find that Matt and his sister Aly were on our plane.

Missy:

We had a beautiful scenic flight out of Cusco and over the Andes.  It was a gorgeous sunny day... until we got to Lima, where it's always smoggy and disgusting.  We were picked up the airport and brought to our super cute hotel (see Amy in opposite picture) , which was recommended by the Bustamantes. 

Amy and I dumped our stuff off in the room and spent the day walking around/exploring Miraflores.  We visited our favorite "love" statue, and then walked down to this crazy mall on the cliffs above the ocean called Larcomar.  They've got a long grassy parkstrip along the oceanfront in Lima... it would all be absolutely gorgeous if it wasn't so smoggy.  It's still pretty nice.

Now we're back at our hotel and getting ready for one last dinner together before I begin my 28 hour trek back to Anchorage.  Amy leaves in the middle of the night.  As always, it's been the best, best time with my sisters.  I don't know that I'm ready go to back. 

Peruvian Wedding Extravaganza, 2010 was off the hook.

Oops.

Oops... Missy thought the picture of Daniel and I in tonight's blog was Sara & Daniel. (I'm flattered.) So I had to post the Bustamante picture of the day. This is them at Uncle Marco's weekend home, after the rafting trip.

Looking adorable, as always.

Marvelous Day

I would have spent all day being depressed that this is our last full day in Cusco... but I was having such a marvelous time, I kept forgetting to be. 

Ames and I got up and walked down to the square (which is pretty much how we do around here).  We found the only open restraunt... which turned out to be a super cute bakery with the only decent coffee we've had since coming to Peru.  Score. (If you're looking for an amazing business opportunity, come to Cusco and start a coffee shop that opens before 8 AM.)

We met up with Sara and Daniel and a bunch of his crazy Peruvian friends (who, by the way, are completely fabulous. They're all guides, so they have equipment to do absolutely everything amazing in the world, which they apparently do, all the time.  Plus, they all know everything about everything).  We drove for two hours through some fabulous mountians and valleys, and then went whitewater rafting.  It was maybe my best part of the trip.  It was sunny, there were great rapids, and like I said hilariously awesome company.  Highlights included getting stuck on a giant rock, and Daniel scooping Amy up just in the nick of time.

After the rafting, we stopped by Daniel's aunt and uncle's house.  We sat with them at the wedding and absolutely loved them.  It's their "weekend" house... and it's the most gorgeous house I've ever been to.  It's way up this mountian and there's a sacred stream from and ancient temple that runs through it, it's surrounded by a gorgeous garden that they are apparently constantly expanding.  We had dinner and hung out with Daniel's brother Alex and his Mom, Dad, nephew, Aunt, and Uncle. I really didn't know what to expect when I signed up to come to Peruvian Wedding Extravaganza... but I never could have anticipated him being part of such an amazing family, they're seriously wonderful.

Sara's new life is going to be fabulous.

Recovery day... and a Wedding Miracle

Well, it's a wedding miracle (according to Missy.) No one except Matt had a hangover this morning, even after drinking a swimming pool's worth (at least) of Cusquena last night. We think poor Matt got all of ours.

At any rate, it was a really nice recovery day. We got up and bummed around the spa and went to breakfast and waited hours for the newlyweds to pack up. Then we went and met some of Sara and Matt's friends at their family bed & breakfast in Pisac for lunch, leftover wedding cake, and (why not?) a few more Cusquenas.

Drive back up the Sacred Valley was even more beautiful than we remembered it, and we stopped at some nice ruins. Now Miss and I are back at Piccola Locanda, and the Bustamantes are coming over later for game night. Perfect post-wedding day.

Oh, and Missy got chased by a vicious macaw. So it's not just me.

This really did happen.

I almost forgot. After all those years of joking about dressing up like Rambo at Sara's wedding... Missy really did it.

...and later scored a cowboy hat. It really was a great party.

The Big Day!

After a ton of Cusquenas, this will probably not be the best blog ever. But Miss and I just wanted to say that they did it! And it was perfect. Crazy and hilarious and fun. Pictures might help.

PWE- 1!!!

It's wedding day minus one! and what a day. Let's see- we started off in Cusco. Sara and Miss had a nice, lazy morning over coffee (which I fetched from the plaza below), and I had a spectacular morning run through the Sachsayhuaman ruins above town. The altitude killed, but having the ruins to myself (and a few goats) was worth every labored breath.

Ran wedding errands all morning (well, Sara & Daniel did- Miss and I had a lovely walking tour of Cusco), and at some point, somebody fetched Matt from the airport, who proved to be a fun addition to our crazy wedding party. After a gorgeous lunch at Cicciolina's, we all had pre-wedding beer on the steps of the cathedral Plaza de Armas, and then it was off to Urubamba! and the Aranwa Spa. The spa is spectacular, with beautiful grounds and a view of the mountains, and we have it all to ourselves. Missy and I scored the best room of all (see left.)

Daniel and Ricardo did all the pre-wedding heavy lifting, and the girls (and Matt!) took off to tapas and drinks at the cute bar overlooking the pool, followed by the spa (and martinis! see below) to conduct Sara's bachelorette party #2. She's already ruined her nail polish, but a good time was had by all.

Tonight, we got down to business. A tipsy Amy sewed up Sara's ripped wedding dress, and a tipsier Missy pulled together bouquets. Matt downed pisco sours and provided the sewing kit, and Sara waited until the eleventh hour to write her vows. Can't imagine drunk vows from the night before not being fabulous! I'm currently attempting to make her a garter from one of my thongs. (You don't want to know.) Nothing like last-minute wedding fun!

Best Day EVER in Cusco... and a crazy sheep

Wow.  It's hard to believe this has all been the same day.  Amy and I had to move from ridiculus attempted-sleeping spot to attempted-sleeping all over the Lima airport.  We finally got on our flight, and were excited but also pretty exhausted when we finally spied Sara and Daniel in the cue of admirers awaiting us outside the Cusco Airport.  It helped that they brought coffee.

Finally being in Cusco felt a little like coming home again. Sara and Daniel took us to the breakfast at the cutest place ever (even if the cinnamon rolls were a little disgusting). Then Daniel left to run some last minute wedding errands (something about a flourist and a notary) and Amy, Sara, and I checked into Piccola Locanda... into the very same room we first came to last year. Amy and I took well-earned showers (that even had semi-warm water!)... and we all took the best naps ever. I hadn't slept in like 48 hours, and let me tell you it felt great.

We woke up and met up with Daniel and his Uncle Ricardo... they took us up this crazy winding road in the mountians behind Cusco, where we parked and then hiked to some rock faces.  Amy, Sara, and the boys rock climbed (frankly, the gear looked a little snug, so I took a pass), and a good time was had by all. 

We hiked back to the vans, and then Sara, Daniel, Amy and I road the mountian bikes all the way back into Cusco.  On these crazy winding super steep roads.  It was amazing.  We went from being way above the Cusco to right down in the middle of the Plaza de Armas.  The highlight of this trip, however, was a sheep- I'm not kidding you- chasing Amy (pretty aggressively) for a pretty fair distance.  It was bleeting and keeping pace with her and at one point appeared to attempt to bully her over the cliff.  I am not making this up.

Now Amy and I are back at Piccola Locanda and getting ready to walk back down into town (I'm already dreading the walk back up--- Cusco air does NOT agree with me) to meet Sara and Daniel for dinner.  I'm already dreaming about my warm cozy bed and my first real night's sleep in three nights. 

Love from Lima!

Hi from Lima! Which is officially the worst airport on the planet. After an hour + line from hell at immigration (see picture I couldn't resist snapping, of the heinous line that met me when I got off the plane), I was finally allowed in to battle the lines of other tourists also stranded in the airport overnight, all looking for somewhere to crash. Missy beat the rush, and waved and laughed at me from the other side while I was trying not to tear my hair out.

Missy and I were too exhausted from our long flights for much of a reunion scene, but she did remember that this exact airport was where we last saw each other, before I left for Afghanistan. Crazy- it's been almost a year and a half. (And the Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez has not, unfortunately, changed much.)

Not much news here, except that Missy already got a Peruvian boyfriend (a taxi driver who said he was "looking for a lover" but was so good-natured about it that we couldn't manage to be creeped out), and snagged the only 3 empty chairs to make this fabulous bed.

I'm going to try to get some sleep too, God knows where, since we have an early flight to Cusco and I think a day of rock climbing ahead? Sara promised to be at the airport with gallons of coffee- I hope she knows I was serious about the "gallons" part. We can't wait to see her and Daniel!

Travel is hell, but Miami has mojitos

The title pretty much says it all. We're both on our way! And some of us are having more fun than others. Thank you, Miami International Airport, for making the trip less painful.

Sara is lucky her sisters love her

It's Day PWA (Peruvian Wedding Adventure)- 1, and it's been hectic. Missy starts her grueling 4-plane trip to Lima TONIGHT, and I'm packing frantically (and, OK, drinking beer.) Who knows what I'll find in my suitcase when I get to Cusco? I like the surprise factor.

Anyway, so last night I spent hours iTunes-searching for songs called things like He Aloha Mele by people with names like Iva Kinimaka, for Sara's wedding playlist. Big surprise, these songs are not popular in the continental United States, and have been largely overlooked by commercial music sources. So the playlist may be... interesting. I substituted with Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg. I can only imagine how that will go over.


TODAY I was inspired to be a better big sister, and make Sara a cute shirt to wear at her reception. This plan involved a trip to Michael's, my personal version of purgatory. See why, left. Terrifying. At any rate, I went with the iron on letters, intending to spell out "Mrs. Bustamante" on the shirt. (Why, oh why, could the man not have been named "Lee"?) 

It did not go well. I'll spare you all the (hours of cursing, burning myself, and permanently scarring my bathroom counter- not to mention my neighbors) details, but let's just say that Sara may or may not have to become "Mr Ustamant." It was a labor of love. I'm sure she won't mind.


Tomorrow I leave for Peru! I had better pack.


UPDATE: I may need to get some super glue. 

Let the fun begin!

OK, so I'm kind of scared of this blogging thing, and I'll probably be terrible at it. But I thought it might be a great way to share Sara's crazy Peruvian wedding adventure with you guys who can't be there. Not sure how good the internet access is going to be on our travels, but I'll do the best I can to update it during the trip.

Today's update: Sara is in Peru! And Missy and I are gearing up for our big trips. (Very big, if you happen to be flying from Anchorage to Cusco.) Sara and Daniel are in Lima getting all the paperwork for their wedding and honeymoon (way to make it legal, guys!) squared away, and the latest I have from Sara is that "the American Embassy sucks," or something like it. Sounds ominous. Fingers crossed...