Marsh Meanderings: Sunsets, Horses & Ships Oh My!

The last few days have been spectacular here - it is sunny every day - and the surrounding area pays the price. It's a veritable desert here - but it makes for a dramatic location to enjoy sunrises and sunsets, and get a good dose of Vitamin D from mucho Sol.

The sunsets are amazing. It's been a while since either of us have been to a place where you could get such clear views of the sunset - and with no clouds here hardly to speak of - we can see the sun seemingly melt into the horizon, reflecting rays off the ocean like it's boiling the ocean.

It's a photographers paradise. It's a surfers paradise. It's a yoga paradise. It's truly nourishing to the soul. We are considering staying here until the beginning of November, and then likely venturing into the Sacred Valley area past Cusco - checking out the Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo areas.

The last few days have been interesting - with the full moon shining so brightly here - a couple military ships docked off the point and then yesterday we had jet fighters fly over three separate and distinct times throughout the day. Made for some great photographs though - probably a routine done by their military. Not everyone can afford to have a dedicated "Coast Guard" like the USA, so it's likely the Peruvian government uses their navy for these purposes as well. Especially when you consider it was not long ago that Peru and Ecuador were warring over their border...but those days are over with Correa and the replacement (and 25-yr conviction) for ex-Peruvian President Fujimori.

We'll be taking a horseback ride here soon, on the beach, but we've not done yet - we can take our time though since we'll be here all month. We haven't taken a lot of time to explore the local town a whole lot either, but it has a quaint little open air market for food and other things - reminds us of somewhere in the orient or something (like Saigon or Thailand maybe, don't know - we've not been there yet, but based on pictures it's what our imagination brings to mind).

For Ivy's birthday on Monday we went and tried the 'thermal mud bath' that is outside of town. It's basically in the middle of a nowhere desert, passed a dried up river bed, with goats and sheep (pathetic looking sheep) wandering the dried up forest...it was weird, like being on a

different planet. But we got to the 'thermal mud bath' which was nothing more then a whole in the ground with bubbling hot water coming out of the earth. The mud at the bottom was a dark green, and supposedly very nutritious and healthy to the body. Aedan loved having mud all over his body!

The food here with Banessa (from Argentina) our Chef is really some of the best food we've ever had. It doesn't hurt having fresh fish and seafood right here, all sorts of herbs and spices available, and fresh fruit and veggies at hand! But she is an incredibly talented chef, with excellent

presentation and an amazing ability to pair things for amazing taste sensations. They even made a wonderful chocolate mouse and mango cake for Ivy's birthday!

It was a memorable day for all of us - and a much needed escape from the events unfolding around us in the world.

It's a tough life we're living here - so many decisions we have to make every day - beach or pool? Surf or jog on the beach or lay in the sun? But one thing is sure - yoga every day at 10am - between breakfast and lunch and typically after a brief romp in the waves and relaxation in the sun. We've got a great routine here, and it's hard to imagine being anywhere else right now - which tells us this is exactly where we're meant to be. So we're enjoying it and soaking it all in.

We're on top of the world.