Meet this year's Mexico RV Caravan group!

Woke up this morning to a spectacular sunrise. I went out to take a couple of photos, but they really don't do it justice.

We had some hot drinks and breakfast, but it wasn't long before we had to get to work. I replaced one of the roof air vent covers, and then there was a steady list of things I had to get done.

The gang is all here!

Woke up to blue sky and sunshine yesterday and that's the way it was all day long. Definitely our best day for weather since we arrived here in Texas.

It was going to be a busy day. Ruth and I both had a lot to do getting Sherman ready for his big adventure. But, you can't let a beautiful day like that go to waste, so the first thing we did was to set off on a hike!

Sherman is raring to go now!

One of the reasons we arrived in Alpine, Texas a little ahead of schedule was to try to get some minor maintenance done on Sherman. We had a bit of a tough time finding someone willing to do the work. They were all either too busy or they couldn't fit Sherman inside their shop.

On Wednesday, I rode my bike over to BAM Complete Auto Care. I explained to the guy what I needed done, and he said "if you show up at 8:15am and can leave it with me, I will get it all done that day".

What did it cost for our last minute 20 day trip to Peru?

Note, the following prices are in Canadian dollars...

Flight tickets on Air Canada Rouge were $659 return per person. Not a screaming deal, but not bad either considering it was from Ottawa. So we spent $1,318 on airfare.

We flew into Lima and stayed there a couple of days before taking the first class bus to Huaraz. The return trip cost $90 per person, so we spent $180 on transportation in Peru.

6 Tips for Making Your Road Trip a Success

Are you are setting out on a road trip to get to your destination as quickly as possible, or perhaps embarking on an adventure that’s more about the journey than the final destination? It always pays to plan for success before undertaking a major road trip. This short article provides five tried and true tips designed to enhance your road trip experience.

Wandering around Alpine, Texas.

The Lost Alaskan RV Park is located 1.5 miles (2.4 kms) north of the center of town. The temperature was still below freezing when we set out on a walk to see some of the town.

We were also still looking for a mechanic to do some minor work to Sherman, but we were not having any luck. I had made some phone calls, and so had Garth because he was looking to have some work done as well on his rig.

We just made it in time!

The weather forecast said that the front was to move in around noon yesterday, bringing high winds and a chilling drop in temperature to southern Texas.

So we got on the road at 7:45am trying to beat the storm to our destination in Alpine, TX.

We are moving along quickly

For several reasons.

We need to be at Alpine, TX to meet up with this year's Mexico RV Caravan group by Friday after lunch. That is actually the latest possible that we would need to be there. We actually had visions of showing up there on Wednesday just to give ourselves some relax time.

But, Sherman needs to get a couple of minor maintenance issues looked after.

A perfect day in Texas

Well, my comment the other day about not having any luck with Texas weather sure didn't apply yesterday!

We woke up to blue sky and sunshine and it continued that way the whole day. With a high of about 66F (19C) and no wind, it was a perfect day for a hike!

First day back on the road in Sherman!

Friday started off as overcast, rainy, and breezy. The rain was supposed to stop by 10:30am though so we hung out at Tom's parent's place until around that time. Thanks to Tom, Emily, and family for looking after us so well!

Not the best driving weather, however the wind wasn't bad enough to affect us. Plus, they are calling for a really nice Saturday and Sunday so we didn't want to waste the weekend driving.

We hit the road, headed for Garner State Park.

We don't seem to have much luck with Texas weather

We knew there was rain in the forecast, but it had said "occasional showers throughout the day". So we weren't in a big rush to leave Tom and Emily's property out in the country where Sherman has been stored since April.

But, we were definitely keeping in mind that when it gets really wet here, the entrance road turns to thick, goopy, mud! That's what happened when we arrived here.

Back in the motorhome, and that's enough flying for this year!

It might be a couple of days before we get back into our regular routine here, so just bear with us regarding the oddly timed blog posts please.

On Tuesday, we made our way from Ottawa, Ontario to Austin, Texas. There are no direct flights that do that route, so we first had to fly from Ottawa to Philadelphia. We have never been to Philadelphia airport before (and in fact, we have never been to the city itself) so it was a new experience.

Just a quick note

We made it to Austin, Texas and stayed at friends Tom and Emily's place last night. They let us use their car this morning and we went and did a big grocery shop to stock Sherman's empty fridge and shelves.

Gotta go... they're driving us over to meet Sherman now.

Temperature here 74F (23C), but they say there is a cold front coming in towards the weekend.

More later!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greenworks Cordless Electric Back-pack Leafblower is on deal of the day.

And in Canada...

Check out the deals at Amazon.ca

On our way to our motorhome!

We are here at Ottawa International Airport waiting for our flight to Philadelphia.

Our flight is at 6:00am and they tell you to be here three hours before an international flight. And we got here at just after 3:00am. There was nobody at the American Airlines check-in counter, but that's fine... we used the self serve terminal.

They have "pre-clearance" at this airport. So when you have a flight direct to the United States, you actually go through customs and immigration at this airport prior to boarding your plane. So when we arrive in Philadelphia, we don't have to go through it there.

We arrived back in Canada... earlier than expected!

Our flight from Lima to Toronto went fine.

But if you're going to spend eight hours on an airplane, flying with Air Canada Rouge is not the best option if you have long legs like I do. Yes, we always weigh the cost factor, but it really wasn't a very comfortable eight hours for me with my knees jammed into the seat in front of me.

We arrived in Toronto a couple of minutes early at 10:50am. There was no line up at customs and immigration and we were quickly welcomed back to Canada.

On our way back to Canada

Writing this at Lima airport (Peru), waiting for our flight to Toronto that departs at 3:00am Sunday morning! We are scheduled to arrive Toronto around 11:00am, and then we have a short wait there before heading to... Quebec City! Yes, we often have these convoluted routes because they are cheaper. As we say... we have lots of time, but not lots of money! If it were the other way around, we would take the more expensive direct flights when possible.

Anyhow, then another connection in Quebec City that takes us into Ottawa around 7:00pm.

October Expenses

October was a bit of an expensive month for us. We bought new hiking boots, we had some car rental expenses, and of course a trip to Peru! I'll do a separate post later that details the total cost of the Peru trip by itself.

We spent a total of $3,306 CAD ($2,520 USD) for the month. Here's how it all broke down...

Day trip to Carhuaz for ice cream!

We had been told about a town around 30 kms (18 miles) north of here that is well known for its ice cream. Also, the town of Carhuaz was supposed to have a nice central plaza and we were looking for a kind of a casual day.

So we hopped on a collectivo and paid the 4 soles ($1.60 CAD, $1.20 USD) each for the 45 minute or so ride.

New adventures coming up!

Our time in Peru is winding down. Considering this trip was a last minute replacement for what was supposed to be Ecuador/Galapagos, we are sure happy with the way things worked out.

And because it was a last minute thing, we had done absolutely no research into this trip until 48 hours or so before boarding the plane. It was kind of exciting doing it that way!

How did we manage to do that?!

Up early yesterday to get ready for a big hike up to a lake in the Peruvian Andes near where we are staying here in Huaraz. We had read about this hike, and so we knew that it was going to be a tough one that needed an early start if we were going to complete it.

Our friends Lara and Luca came and met us at our apartment and we took the collectivo van to the village of Wilcahuain about 5 kms (3 miles) away where the trail begins to Laguna Ahuac.

We love going to the market

We didn't sleep very well Sunday night, so when our friends Luca and Lara invited us to go on a hike with them, we declined. Not like us to do that, but we don't want to get run down.

Instead, we stayed in the apartment, and I had a late morning nap. By lunchtime, we were ready to go out.

Not the best lunch

We made a plan to go for a hike up to a mirador (lookout) overlooking the city of Huaraz. We sent a note to our new friends Luca and Lara and asked if they wanted to join us. We met them at their hostel around 10:00am and set off up the hill.

It was about a 3 km (1.8 mile) hike up the hill. But most of it was through the city itself, so it really didn't start to become scenic until we got quite a lot higher up.

Fantastic road through the mountains to the Chavin Ruins

We had made a plan to (once again) do a group tour through the people at Peruvian Mountain Adventures.

It's not our normal travel style to do group tours. And in fact, if we were to do this particular one again, we would probably chose to do it on our own. Only for the simple fact that we would have loved to stay in the area for longer!

A rare evening out...

Yesterday was a rest day. We didn't leave the apartment until after lunch when we made our way down to the central area to pick up some more supplies.

There is a small archaeological museum at the central plaza, so we paid the 5 soles ($2 CAD, $1.50 USD) entrance fee per person and went to see what there was to see.

Pastoruri Glacier Tour - Peru

We've pretty much figured that we are going to stay here in Huaraz for the balance of our Peru trip. There is simply too much to see and do in this area that we don't see the point of moving somewhere else just for the sake of moving. We love our accommodation, and the area itself is spectacular.

Take yesterday, for example. Once again we booked a day tour with Peruvian Mountain Adventures. The cost of group day tours is usually around 50 soles ($19.50 CAD, $15 USD) each and that is for the full day tour. We've learned that it wouldn't be much less to get to any of these places on your own, so the day tours make a lot of sense.

What do we do on a day off in Peru?

Here in Peru, a day off is when we don't do any hiking! It's important to take a break after some of the strenuous hiking we've been doing.

So after doing the Laguna 69 hike on Tuesday, we made Wednesday a day of rest.  Of course that doesn't mean we just sit around and watch television all day!

Five Things to Do When You Have Just a Couple of Days at Home

Does it seem like you are constantly travelling? Maybe you have a job that requires you to be on the road at all times, travelling outside the country and even continent. Then again, maybe you just really enjoy travelling and try to book trips as often as possible. While the travelling part may be fun, exciting, and busy, it doesn’t leave you much time at home. When you are at home, that means you need to scramble to fit everything in before you’re off on your next trip.

To help you manage your time a little better, here’s a look at the top five things to do when you have just a couple days at home.