Draw Conclusions on the Wall: Valley of the Moon. First Day in San Pedro. Mar. 9

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day in San Pedro and enjoyed our first desayuno here in Terrantai Lodge, where we exchanged pleasantries and info with a delightful German couple. It turns out that this guy had been in Hawaii. Porque? To participate in the Iron Man Competition!! It's sort of the equivalent of 3 Triathlons rolled into one event with no rest between. No wonder he was up at the crack of dawn getting a run in at 8000 feet. They donated their stash of mate do coca teabags to us as they are heading to Bolivia tonight. Also, met a couple from Finland. Looked Scandinavian but the language - incorrecto. Very nice though.

We sort of putzed around the rest of the morning and early afternoon, visiting the local plaza and Inglesia, shopping for mate do coca lozenges, eating lunch etc. Barbara was definitely feeling the effects of the altitude more than me. I was taking the meds, but she couldn't as she had a reaction to them. I felt pretty good. San Pedro is what I think a small pueblo in Mexico might be like or maybe a quaint town of the old Wild West. Adobe brick is the architectural theme for most restaurants, shops and hotels. The streets are not paved - just dirt and a bit of dust, although the recent rains have tamped down the dust, but contributed to more ruts. I'd say the average of the turistas is about 27. We are definitley at the other end of that curve. But, all in all the town is very quaint.

At 3:45 we headed over to Maxim Experience to pagar for our set of excursions and to meet the group for excursion uno to the Valley of the Moons. Of course, this being San Pedro, their carjeta machine was not operational. "no problema - usted puede manana". Ok then. Liking the gratis tour idea. At the Maxim office, we met Anna from Belgium, who was traveling alone since her esposo had to go back to work. Very nice although a bit talkative in Espanol and Ingles. We became her companions for much of the rest of our time in San Pedro.

The Valle de Luna was no misnomer. It was pretty wild and eerie with ethereal landscapes. We did some trekking at a few spots to climb for views of the impressive scenery. We also stopped at the Tres Marias and then to a scenic spot for a beautiful sunset overlooking the mountains and the Lican Volcano. The Brazilians celebrated the Sol with song and music. You will have to wait for the movie for more about that.

Buenas Noches

San Pedro