Country Hopping

Meetings in Ohio at Rogue, a special Level 1 seminar taught in the Chicago area, return trip to Panama for a Staff Training with the Latin American seminar staff, and finally....PERU

So privileged and proud to be part of this team of leaders - Flowmaster meeting at Rogue - 39 FM’s = leaders and ambassadors of the entire CF community = tip of the spear. #femflows

Next stop in the US --> Chicago and Decatur, IL!  A second prop plane ride in 2 weeks!  Very cool way to get to the seminar!

Great CrossFit gym that has been built just for the employees of the hospital, and now opened up to the public to strive for preventative health and wellness in their community.  Very forward thinking group of docs and hospital administrators.  They brought a CrossFit Level 1 seminar here to further educate the docs, physical therapists, and ancillary staff.  We were so proud to be a part of this growth - the whole purpose of CrossFit.  To train people for longevity and quality of life = HEALTH!!!

Docs and staff of CrossFit Enhance.  Awesome!!!

Back to Panama City for a Latin America L1 staff training!  Special guest to join us: Nicole Carroll!  That was a nice surprise!  Great work being done by this crew down here.  Glad to have the privilege of guiding them and working with them, alongside Maggie and Lance!

We made it back to Peru on the 23rd of April, and I was SO sick with the flu and pneumonia the entire rest of the month, we were unable to really do much.  Poor Mike drove and drove and drove to get us through this country that is so much larger than we realized.  Sick or not, I would not be deterred from seeing Machu Picchu, so we at least made the effort to see that.  Peru will have to be returned for a better trip in our future!

Despite feeling pretty rough, I was determined to see Machu Picchu. It had to be done, there was no leaving this country without at least accomplishing that bucket list hit.  We drove the rough and crazy roads from Juliaca and stayed overnight in Ollantaytambo/Urubamba, then the next morning took a train ride to Aguas Calientes and a bus up to one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  Pretty amazing to be there.  Next time we'll hike the Inca trail in, but for now, this was a great experience!

An Incan citadel built high in the Peruvian Andes mountains. Built in the 15th century and later abandoned, it’s renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments, and panoramic views. Its exact former use remains a mystery, though it is thought that it was built as an estate for an Incan emperor. Wikipedia and Google

What ARE those little pods we spotted way up on the cliff walls as we drove out of the Machu Picchu area?  We later discovered they are little hotel rooms accessed by a via ferrata.  You have to earn your sleep!  We are definitely coming back for this one!  Skylodge Adventure Suites- the edgiest hotel in the world!

Seen on the Peruvian highway....the back of the van was completely full of people, more llamas, and baskets of stuff.  When one more won't fit, throw 'em up top!

We woke up one morning to hairless dogs running around our camp spot near a little farm! So ugly they are cute! Ha!

We had hoped to fly over the Nazca valley and see the geoglyphs from the air, but illness didn't lend itself well to that experience, so we had to suffice with a "grueling" climb up these stairs to see as much as we could of the ones closest to the road.  The Nazca Lines were mysteriously drawn into the thin dark layer of dirt that lays over the lighter colored earth below it, in the arid plains along the Peruvian coast.  There isn't clear evidence about who really drew them, but it's thought to be the Incan civilization, likely used for rituals probably related to astronomy, to confirm the clans who made up the population and to determine through ritual their economic functions, or a map of underground water supplies.  Or, maybe they were fantastic explanations from ancient gods or a landing strip for returning aliens....???  Either way, it's amazing to see and realize that the 300 figures have been here since between 200 BC and 600 AD, engraved in the dark ferrous oxide pebbles of over nearly 400 square miles of desert.  crystlinks.com and nascaperu

From Nazca, Mike put the pedal to the metal and fast tracked us up the Peruvian coast, with a quick jaunt into the mountains South of Lima, and on up to the border of Ecuador.  We hurried through so we could get to Ecuador in time to meet up with Mark and Ali!  Yay!  Friends from home to come and visit us!

A wide variety of transportation is available to Peruvians, though the most common is the covered mototaxi.  Driving in the craziness that is traffic here is giving Mike the experience he needs to compete in NASCAR next year.  Or get a lot of tickets when we get home!!!

One last-ditch effort at adventure in Peru before we crossed the border. Stuck in the sand with the only way out to jam sticks under the tires for some traction while we were viciously attacked by thousands of mosquitoes!!! Good-bye Peru!

Country Hopping PHOTO ALBUM

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April 29, 2015 - Special Post

Today Tanner made a peaceful exit from our world.  He has been struggling with 15 years of age and a rectal tumor and it was time to let him go.  Lindsay and Eli took such good care of him and he was in loving hands.  We will certainly miss our dear companion and our life and hearts are left with a big hole without him to return home to.  Thank you for all the happy trails you spent with us T-man.  For all the love you gave us and so many others. 
BEST. DOG. EVER.
This video was incredibly moving because it depicted so much similarity of Tanner's life with us.  It's an incredible tribute that was fitting to memorialize our own dog.

Thanks to Tracy Anderson for this awesome photo of T-man in action.

Peru...Wait, no. Panama!!!

We had a brief entry into Peru, where we struggled to get the right paperwork for leaving the van while we flew to Panama.  That unfortunately took enough time, we didn't get to do any sightseeing and flew right from Juliaca, Peru to Panama - but we did experience the Peruvian version of the mototaxi and eating cuy (guinea pig).  A delicacy widely accepted as normal fare throughout Peru and Ecuador.

Yep.  Head, limbs, and all....Whew!

Thankfully there was great local music to give some atmosphere around the cuy experience!

After that welcoming to Peru, we flew to Panama to to meet up with Emily, Kyle, Andiee, and Hudson!  HOORAY!  So excited to have our family come and visit us down in Latin America!

THEY'RE HERE!!!!!  (Hudson wasn't too sure about Mike!)

Lots of "firsts" for these guys - visiting a Central American country, palm trees everywhere, CrossFit workouts in HOT humidity at CrossFit PTY, family-style bicycling, rides in true yellow taxis, watching HUGE ships go through the Panama Canal, experiencing new foods, rides in tiny prop planes to remote islands, boat rides to go snorkeling, learning about indigenous cultures and their beliefs and ways of living, seeing and holding sloths (our favorite!), and zip lining through the tropical rain forest!  It was a BIG trip and we loved every minute of it!

Andiee will have awesome memories of her first trip to a foreign country!  She also had a lot of dreaming time. Every time we got into a boat, she zonked out within seconds.  Mom and Dad were constantly holding her head up!  ;-)

Expanded canals are currently being built for even larger ships and increasing amounts of traffic.  The ships that went through while we watched were certainly huge!

Some facts about the canal:

• Excavation of the Canal was equal to digging a 10 feet trench deep by 55 wide from California to New York. 
• The locks of the Panama Canal are seven feet thick.
• Ships traveling between New York and San Francisco save 7,872 miles by using the Panama Canal instead of going around Cape Horn.
• Time of passage through locks 3 hours
• Tide on the Pacific side 20 feet
• Tide on the Atlantic side 2.5 feet
• Average rainfall on Atlantic side 130 inches
• Average rainfall on Pacific side 70 inches

(http://panamacanalfacts.com/about/)

Family fun in Panama!

San Blas Islands, here we come!  The San Blas are an archipelago of islands along the Carribean side of Panama.  Emily was a great travel agent and set us up with a really nice place on Yandup island where we stayed in open air cabañas over the water, snorkeled, met the local Kuna people and were taught about their beliefs and ways of life.  The Kuna Indians, who run all the islands as an autonomous province with minimal interference from the national government, have maintained their own economic system, language, customs and culture, with distinctive dress, legends, music and dance and thus have avoided traditional tourism development. The economy of the islands is based on coconut sales, fishing and tourism, and they offer travelers good snorkeling and swimming. The lodging facilities are very simple and there is small availability.  The food is also simple but was delicious! The area is surrounded by reefs, some of the oldest in the world.  It was a beautiful 3 days out there! (info on Kuna from www.enjoypanama.com)

Local Kuna women create their traditional "molas" - rainbow colored fabrics hand stitched with fish, birds, jungle animals and geometric designs.

Andiee gets a traditional women's bracelet tied around her ankle by a Kuna woman.

Hudson loved the local ladies as much as they loved him!!!

Prop plane flight over the islands.

From the islands we headed up to the mountains to visit El Valle del Antón, where there are lots of fun adventure activities like ziplining and a butterfly haven, rainforest hikes, and holding and learning about sloths!  Our B&B was really special in that the owners are animal lovers and provide a rescue for injured and orphaned sloths.  They currently had a baby 2-toed sloth and 2 teenage 3-toed sloths rescued from the highways where their mothers were killed.  Super cool to interact with these creatures!  Your life simply slows down in order to be with them.  It was a good thing!

From El Valle, we went to the Pacific side of Panama and visited the beach town of Santa Clara, where we were able to relax and recover from some gastro-intestinal distress some of the group suffered from new water exposure!
It was SUCH a great trip and we loved having everyone come and visit!  I am off to Ohio for a meeting while Mike gets to finish the last few days with Emily and Kyle, then he joins me in Chicago for a few days!

Since I had to leave early, Andiee made a "Lisa" head card so I could still be with them at the end of the trip in "spirit"!  A perfect likeness!

Family Visit to Panama Photo Album HERE