Deep like the rivers

2018 started off with a trip to New Zealand and has continued to be amazing in terms of travel:

Niagara Falls ~ Canadian Falls

• Niagara Falls with the Michigander nieces and nephew. We drove from Detroit and stayed on the Canadian side. It was good to be there in the off-season: the town itself is super touristy and reminded me a lot of a family-friendly version of Las Vegas. In early April it was uncrowded so I can only imagine how jam-packed everything would be during peak season.
  
  Mi Hermana and I really wanted to ride the famous boat on the river up to the Falls, but the boat tour only operates in late spring and summer. Besides, the Niagara River was frozen -- frozen! My Northwest brain was so fascinated by a frozen river-- and boats couldn't get in the water anyway.
  
  The Falls themselves (both Canadian and American) were stunning, as were the cheesy tours that brought you closer to the water. The butterfly conservatory was unexpectedly enjoyable for me -- I didn't realize we'd actually be walking around in a heated room with thousands of butterflies flitting around us. Mi Hermana and I also sampled many, many local Niagara wines.
  
  On the way back, we stopped at an Underground Railroad museum in Ontario. I really liked reading the stories of former slaves who made it to freedom in Canada and had to create a new life, build communities, and fight for rights. It was... interesting and awkward to observe the vastly differing reactions of kids ages 6,8, and 10. The 6yo thought everything was fun and games; the 8yo monopolized the history doctoral student/museum staffer's time with questions about everything under the sun, indicating a slow awareness that human history is not just; and the 10yo in full tween mode kept saying loudly she'd studied this in school.
  



Peyto Lake, Banff 

• I went back to Canada in August with old college friends, this time to Jasper and Banff National Parks. Unfortunately, most of British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana was blanketed in smoke from wildfires, so we couldn't really see the world-renowned mountains and glaciers surrounding us. Nevertheless, we went hiking and canoeing and kayaking and swimming and whitewater rafting. When we caught glimpses of the Rockies, though, it was definitely gorgeous. Will have to go back.
  
• This summer I also attempted to summit both Mt Rainier and Mt Adams -- Rainier for the second time, Adams for the first. On Rainier, I got further than I did on my 2015 attempt, and did it sans anxiety attack! Our group didn't end up summiting due to unsafe conditions but I'm wildly happy about our trip. Will definitely try again, and soon.
  
  On Adams, we probably should have camped halfway up instead of trying to summit in one day. We made it an impressive 1700 feet short of the summit, though. It was very long day. But now we know, for next time!  

Kia ora, meri kirihimete

It took a little over 5 years, but I finally visited La Otra Hermana in New Zealand. The youngest neffy is now 5, and I've only ever met him over Skype; they're expecting a fifth baby, and I don't want to make a habit of having nieces or nephews I've never actually hugged.

Mt Ruapehu, Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Over the Kiwi Christmas holidays, the fam made sure I tried the NZ foods -- the traditional and apparently controversial pavlova, Anzac biscuits, fluffies, oka, paua fritters, Tim Tams, and assorted lollies.  The kids all love feijoas, which I've never had and wanted desperately to try, but they were out of season. Feijoa-flavored candies had to suffice.

Mt Ngauruhoe aka Mt Doom from LOTR,
Tongariro

85% of my trip was for seeing the family; I had grand plans for hiking the rest of my time. I had to be a bit flexible, because all the Great Walk huts were booked for all the multi-day hikes I wanted to do. But I managed to head north to the do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (SO BEAUTIFUL) and west to do a small portion of the Te Araroa trail.

Emerald Pools, Tongariro 

Kapiti Island from portion of the
Te Araroa trail

Marlborough wine country,
South Island - I biked 36 km!!!

I spent New Year's Eve in Wellington! My third NYE outside Seattle, my second outside the States, my first in the southern hemisphere. The national museum of NZ also sated my Great War obsession, with an incredibly detailed and moving exhibit on Gallipoli.

I had planned on hiking around the northwest part of the South Island, but rental car agencies had a 7-day minimum. I didn't want to spend too much time away from the kiddos, so I hopped on a bus, then rented a bike and cycled around Marlborough, New Zealand's most famous wine region. It was a good backup plan, got me on a bike for the longest period of time since fracturing my elbow falling off one 20 years ago, and made me embrace the relaxed Kiwi way of life. Plus, the wine tastings were amazing.

I also managed to get some serious quality time with the two neffies and two nieces. They've grown so much since I last saw them in person! Of course I knew that from talking to them on Skype, but still. I spent time with each of them individually:

Ropes course!
Slightly scary but fun!

• 9-year-old nephew and I went to a ropes course, where he proceeded to go fearlessly across every obstacle. I definitely had to get out of my comfort zone to keep up with him and make sure he was OK; as long as I didn't look down, I was fine.  He wanted to do each one first, except for one zipline where you hang by your arms 50 feet above ground. I had to gulp down my own nervousness and prove to him that it was fun! And doable! And not deadly! When he finally did it, he had such an adrenaline rush that he immediately exclaimed "That was amazing! Let's do the whole course! We can do it, Auntie! We can do anything!" I guess you can, if you conquer your fears.
  
• 5-year-old neffy and I took a 45-minute train ride -- his first time ever on a train! He was very excited. He got to order and pay for our tickets, and once on board he kept wanting to switch our seats every few minutes.
  
• The 7- and 8-year-old nieces both wanted to do our nails, get frozen yogurt, and go shopping at the mall, and they wanted to do it together. I probably could have handled them one at a time, but two small girls could run very quickly down the mall hallways, talk at the same time to distract me, and gang up on me to convince me to buy them new nail polish colors, a toy, and a hot beverage. It was exhausting, but fun. 

I really did not want to leave -- both because there's so much more to explore of New Zealand, and because it broke my heart to leave the kids.

Already planning my next trip, hopefully in 2-3 years!

Tawantinsuyu

Since my adventure buddy was just diagnosed with breast cancer, I've been thinking a lot about our recent trip to Peru.

We read Turn Right at Machu Picchu  before we left. It's a hilarious memoir by a travel writer following in Hiram Bingham's footsteps, tracing the 1911 jungle trek that led to Bingham's (re)discovery of Machu Picchu.

Going from 0 to 11,000 feet was horrible; we felt the effects of the altitude within 2 hours of our arrival in Cuzco.  We had 4 days to acclimate before starting on the Inca Trail, and there were plenty of things to see in Cuzco: the Qorikancha, the Sacred Valley (Pisaq, Ollantaytambo, Chinchera), and Saqsaywaman.  At every site, the ruins were a stunning testament to Inca engineering: amazingly precise stonework and astronomy.

And Peru is BEAUTIFUL.

Ollantaytambo

On the road to Chinchera

On the road to Chinchera

The Inca Trail itself was not as difficult as we anticipated it would be. (I think Muir Snowfield is a tougher hike.)  But there were SO MANY STAIRS. It's completely mind-boggling that the Inca road system, which stretches across thousands of miles in 5 modern countries, could be made up of so many stones and stairways.

 

The terrain was breathtaking: desert to alpine to jungle in all varieties, over every other hill.

And the highest I've now hiked is now 13,828 feet, to Dead Woman's Pass on the Inca Trail.

There were several more Inca ruins on the 4-day trek to Machu Picchu. Honestly, when our group got to the end of our destination, where a thousand international tourists roamed around us with cameras, it was a bit much - especially after being on the trail for over 3 days with few other people.

Huayna Picchu towering above
Machu Picchu

But then we climbed Huayna Picchu. In the rain. And though we didn't feel particularly bad-ass after the Inca Trail itself, we absolutely did after finishing Huayna Picchu. BECAUSE IT'S ALL STAIRS. 1,180 VERTICAL FEET OF STAIRS.

After the super touristy Machu Picchu experience, we headed west to Arequipa. There was a general strike going on in the region, so our plans had to be a little flexible. We took a tour of Colca Canyon, where we saw condors; the same tour took us to see more awe-inspiring mountains. And the bus sneaked up to 16,108 feet -- the highest I've been, period (even if I've only hiked up 13,828).

A condor flies over
Colca Canyon

Sabancay, the smoking volcano

El Misti

There was so much of Peru we didn't have time to explore: Lake Titicaca, the Amazon, the Nazca Lines, the foodie scene in Lima, other gorgeous hikes in the Andes.  But it was so beautiful, and the mix of cultures so proud and fascinating, that we just might have to go back some day!

And yes, I did eat a guinea pig....

.... Meh.