Marcus took the kids to the river and it was absolutely beautiful..here a some shots…

And the planning for our trip to Matchu Picchu was intense as we tried our best to make sure we stay within our budget. Thanks to our host Sue and Eddy for helping us make sure we did not pay that over priced outrageous prices for the journey up to the top..

So here is the deal. the Train ride one way from the Sacred valley to Aguas Calentes ( the town in matchu picchu) was $97 one way. the cheapest was $64 but that is around 9:30pm. and its just 1 one way price. with a large family like mine it can break a bank for sure. and then once you arrive at the small town you will then take a bus up to matchu picchu for $12 round trip for kids and $26 round trip for adults and the bus up is about 30min ride. the train ride from sacred valley to aguas calentes is about 2 hour ride. So you see our family of 6 could not possibly take the train up and back down and the bus ride…and also to pay the entrance for the main event matchu picchu…

Thanks to our host we came to the conclusion of renting a private van for 2 days and go up there but the van can only drop us off at a place call Hydroelectrica. because only the train can go to aguas calentes which is the town that you have to go to get to matchu picchu.

But there a challenge…after the van drops us off at hydroelectrica we must walk 3 hours on the train tracks all the way to aguas calentes…which is a pleasant walk but the mosquitos will eat you up….yeap they will have a field day with your body. Anyways we did it and since we had the private van we where able to stop for lunch and also stop at a town call Santa theresa and got to jump into the hotsprings there which was so lovely. and oh if you don’t have a swimsuit don’t worry they rent them there. for $1 you can rent a swimsuit and jump in the water.

so after about 2 hour stop for some hotspring time we then drove to our stop and we started our 3 hour walk.

we also found out that if you are travelling from Cusco you can get the public van from cusco to hydroelectrica for $20 round trip… so you see the train is a bank breaker for sure.

Oh and if your buy your matchu picchu entrance ticket online you will be paying a whole lot but if you go to the cusco office you will be paying way cheaper just make sure to carry along your passport. and kids 7yrs and under are free and from 7yrs up to 18yrs is half the price.

now hotels at the small town that you get to before making your way up to matchu picchu are very cheap and seem to be available even at the last minute so you can choose to wait and arrive there to decide which place you want to stay. we stayed at an ok hostel and it was clean and had wifi and cable tv.. and it was only $12 a night for two people in the room and includes breakfast. prices in the town was pretty cheap.

while on the road

at the top it was cloudy and rainy

aguas calentes town

our 3 hour hike…ended up 4 hours going but 2 hours coming back…

Market day is usually on Wednesdays and Fridays. So we decided to take a trip. its about 10min drive from the place we are staying.

We first visited the livestock market which is 2min walk from the regular market day.

here a few pictures of what its like to visit a livestock market… pretty amazing…

super hot out here

breakfast is served….

thats their breakfast…chicken in the stock

we purchased this ones here as pets for our girls and they boxed them up for us for $4 total…and our kids named them Rain and River

they are for sale…but not for pets…

little bunny enjoying a moment with marcus

live stock market is awesome

fresh produce from the sellers farm

all that onion for 50 cents….

our lovely host

serious fresh hot pepper

want some chicken…freshly skinned

one of the reasons our kids fell inlove…this cute dogs

a sad moment.. couple of days after rain and river was bought…Rain died and our kids held a burial ceremony for him…they named him Rain Manns….

So when we decided to travel to Peru one of the things we knew that we must do since we are on this side of the planet was one of the 7 wonders of the world. Matchu Picchu…

So when we started researching on that our family friend mentioned to us that we should stay in Sacred Valley where she has an awesome friend who would love to host us.

So I contacted Sue and Eddie from Sacred Valley and from the moment we arrived at the airport in cusco we felt their warm welcoming towards us. They picked us up from the airport which is about 2 hours away to their home in Yanahura which is a town in the sacred valley.

The drive there was a bit scary since we pretty much driving on the edge of the Andes mountain. But we made it safely and our kids loved their home since its like a farm house. Sue and her husband Eddy are such amazing host and made us feel so comfortable. They helped us planned all our tours and made sure that we don’t end up paying the outrageous tourist prices. which trust me its super duper outrageous tourist prices….

Sue and Eddy also own a tour company and they are really geared towards making sure you get a great deals in all the tours you get through them. Also their place is awesome for hosting large groups. so comment if you want to visit the sacred valley and wants to get in touch with Sue and Eddy.

We say thank you to such awesome people and will always have a place in our hearts

the view from the flight landing in cusco

Aasha having the altitude problem a few hours of arrival i cusco…thanks to Sue and Eddy they knew what to give her..cacoa tea…I probably got the spelling wrong.

the next morning

me and our lovely host in the kitchen…this lady can cook some yummy meals..

he thinks he got this…marcus in the kitchen…

So when our kids first met it’s as if they have known each other for years. Our boys and our princesses are so great with each other. When we finish the play day and going on in a cab..here are mj’s words.

“Mommy I miss Malik already” it’s so priceless seeing them play and create such amazing memories…

Last night we had another amazing evening having dinner with Youssouf and his beautiful family…here are few pictures of our great memories 

A little silly face don’t hurt…try it out..

A kiss for mommy…

They are friends for life…you know what they are sisters..period..

We have become one family…

Kids having a memorable moment…

LovING some one is truly an amazing experience for all to enjoy….

We have less than 24hours before travelling to cusco and we are super excited to take that trip so creating awesome memories the night before with our new LLF’S is our top priority. Love you all family. 
Peruvian Exploration Continues…for another 24hours in Lima…

Such a loverly da in Miraflores last 2 days. And marcus just returned home from his burning man trip in Reno Nevada. 

We all miss him so much…but the queen will have to get his dateday/datenight. So here we go. 

I took Marcus to centro which is the area where the President and Government offices are. We spent the whole day and part of our evening there. 

If there was one thing we do in our relationship to keep the spark going it’s our dates. We always make sure to have dated as and datenights. This moments we devote our time and we live in the moment. 

So here are a few pictures of our daydate….

Marcus enjoying his fies pisco sour and some tasty fried sweet potatoe chips

On the bus riding around centro

Right in front of the governors palace where the President works. 

He is taking the picture taking to a new level…

Selfie crazy

He loves my hair cut…and I loventured the short head massages I get throughout the day

One of the Catholic churches around the Square 

He is all for Peru…it was so funny with me trying to take this picture…

My photographer was awesome 

Really had a great daydate….
Peru Exploration Continues. ….

Today was a really special day for all of us. It’s my oldest daughters birthday. she turn 15yrs today. Now we usually don’t do any big birthday party’s with big cakes and all. But today I decided to go all out for my teenager.

We spent the day at a family and friends picnic spent about 4hours just having a great time and eating some yummy meals. After we went to spend the rest of our afternoon and evening at our friends home and their family. here are a few pictures of how Destiny’s birthday bash went.

Birthday girl getting her birthday present from a chiropractor at the picnic..her birthday chiropractic adjustment

celebrating 2 amazing kids today.. Destiny and Malik. it was really priceless seeing the smiles on their faces.

the birthday spread…

its dance off time….

our two celebrants..

chocolate cake and lemon pie…yummy

enjoying some family time

Thanks to our New LLF’s in Lima Peru for helping us create a memorable birthday for Destiny.

Peruvian Explorations Continues…..