Hola Mi familia, today I spent the day with the new folks of Session II of the PIARA Project, my director and fellow staff.  We first set out just South of Lima about 40km to a site known as Pachacamac, which is one of two archeological sites that are significant to Peruvian due the size of the area of over 460 hectacres, and temple where many people came to visit an oracle.  After visiting the grounds scattered with pyramids and cemetery, we made our way to a nearby popular restaurant La Casa de Don Cucho.  Lunch was ordered family style with samplings of the more traditional dishes that includes;  La evolucion del cebiche (fresh raw fish in lime sauce and onions with sides of peruano maize and papas), and some chicha morada (a non-alcoholic, sweet beverage purple corn drink native to the Peruvian Andes).  The afternoon was followed by a visit tot he Nacional Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and Peruvian History.  Unlike the other Museum Larko which is more of an art gallery the Nacional Museum displays an array of Peruvian artifacts and timeline that would make any Peruano proud.  Tomorrow we meet early once more and head off to a bus line and head North along the Peruano Coastal Highway for some time then head East up and over a 14,000ft pass over the Cordillera Blanco and into the highland Andes to the Town of Caraz.  We will have a day or two in Caraz (about 7500ft) to get acclimatized before headed up in small cambi bus/taxi to Hualcayan to our home/village for the next three months.

July 3 - traveling from Seattle through Dallas and Miami, soon to depart for the final leg to Lima, Peru. It's been a smooth trip so far, but I must admit it was tough to depart Seattle this morning after a blue sky and a perfect 57F (Seattle Summer). A huge thanks to my dears friends David and Paul for allowing me to stay with them and escape to the mountains as often as I could and did. Farewell my PAC N.W. friends, I plan to see you later this years we bring the holidays and year to a close.