Postcard from Peru – Iquitos Street Scenes

Posted on July 29, 2015 by captainjack66

Okay little Dorothy, so Diplomonkey this time around is cheating with his latest chimping excursion. Diplomonkey took this batch of pictures of Peru’s Iquitos while on leave. Diplomonkey taking time off? Oh how scandalous, I do say little Dorothy – what is this world coming to!

Iquitos’ lively neighborhood of Belen – also known as the Amazon Venice.

Rushhour in downtown Iquitos (along Iron House supposedly designed by Gustave Eiffel).

Rushhour in downtown Iquitos (along the Iron House supposedly designed by Gustave Eiffel).

Iquitos is a really cool place to visit. Its hot and humid much like Miami, so Diplomonkey feels right at home. The people are however even nicer; always with a smile on their faces and not in too much of a rush. It seems that the pace of life, much like the Amazon river’s current, runs at 4-6 kilometers per hour.

Iquitos Street Scene #1

What Diplomonkey find really great about this island city in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon are the street scenes of people engaged in their daily activities.

Iquitos Street Scene #2

Yes, little Dorothy, Iquitos (capital of Peru’s Amazon) connects to the rest of the country only by air and the river; so if it is not manufactured or grown locally, it has to come in by plane or by boat (Pucallpa is a 4-7 days sail away). There are no roadways in or out of the city linking it with the rest of the country, giving Iquitos a surreal frontier town feel.

Iquitos Street Scene #3

Hope the pictures entices others to pay a visit. Nothing can beat the smell of oxygen rich air that permeates the city, nor a tropical downpour.

Cheers and more to follow from Peru!

Okay, I Have Been a Bit of a Slacker #2

Posted on May 10, 2015 by captainjack66

Washington DC is not only one of my favorite cities, but also I would dare say my abode for a decade and I miss it dearly. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and the opportunity it gives me and my family to move around internationally and explore the world, as well as prove myself every two to three years; if I do not get evacuated from post.

I would be lying if I said I did not miss friends, old haunts, and even the intrigue and politics of the city and the Hill. I guess being gone for a time makes one anxious for a return, which allows one to savor the city and its environs all the more.

Capitol Hill, Perspective #1

The Capitol Dome, Restoration, #1

The Capitol Dome Restoration, #2

Fortunately, work has taken me back to Washington DC twice in the past six months. It has allowed me to explore the city both on the day of arrival and of departure on the weekend – sorry during the other time in the city, work and its obligations is a relentless task master that does not afford much time to explore.

Tulips on the Mall

So I guess any opportunity I get, I will maximize it to the most. This time around I explored everything between old town Alexandria (even hit Starbucks numerous times) to Capitol Hill down through the mall (including the Shackler for a quick half hour visit) and around the tidal basin (including the Jefferson Memorial) and up to the Lincoln Memorial (by way of the FDR, MLK, and WWI and Korea memorials. Experiencing along the way as many of the sights and the characters that make Washington DC so special.

The Percussion King – A Great Street Performer

Tidal Basin Fishermen

Walked by main State, and waved at the security cameras, and got on the orange line and headed out to Georgetown via Rosslyn. I even ran up the hundred or so runs on the mechanical escalator with my pack just for old-time sake, to prove that though a young old fart, I am still in decent shape, and then across the Key Bridge.

Tourists – Blessed Them for Visiting and Contributing to the Economy

On the other side of the river, I even find the time to climb the exorcist stairs, hit GU’s bookstore for a school cap – go Hoyas, and take a picture of the little row house with a view of the Potomac that wifie and I considered buying when we first moved to DC.

Finished the day off as the sun is setting at Pizza Paradiso enjoying the Belgian beers I cannot get in Peru, some pizza Atomica, and all the olives I can eat when I get tapped on the shoulder by a headquarters’ retiree which allowed me the chance to catch up with a friend. Ah, life is good in the nation’s capital.

I am so sorely tempted to make an offer on that little 120 year-old row house, with its English garden with its big trees, its tiny rooms but with a view of the river and around the corner from GU. Guess I will have to wait a while until I rotate back home.

Cheers from an on the road FSO.

Home Again, Off Again…

Posted on March 22, 2015 by captainjack66

Okay so the hours are long, the workload heavy, the time spent away from family painful; fortunately the work remains rewarding and wifie has not (yet) changed the locks on the front door.

Rice field and shack outside of Babahoyo, Ecuador.

As a Foreign Service Officer, I must explore the countryside, engage with people, and report on new things. These are requirements that appeal however to Diplomonkey’s inner Viking’s wunder lust.

In recent travel to Ecuador alone, I have seen the snow-capped Cotopaxi volcano towering over the cloud line to shrimp and tilapia farms along the Guayas River to even Arabian pure breed horses in lush mountain pastures 3,000 meters above sea level (far removed from the burning sands of their origin in the Arabian peninsula).

Cotopaxi Volcano and Quito.

Arabian Horses at Altitude.

Bulls on up High.

At the same time, I have walked along the route that Francisco de Orellana took in the sixteenth century when he set out to explore and conquer the Amazon. Pretty cool, but surreal nonetheless (can you say Indiana Jones).

Statute of Francisco de Orellana, Spanish Explorer and Conquistador.

Walking in the Footsteps of Orellana along the Camino de los Conquistadores.

Sanctuary of the Virgin of Guapulo and Convent – or simply the Guapulo Church.

Anyhow, it’s off to Texas and Florida again in a couple of weeks to look at cattle for export to South America. In the meantime, to make amends while still in Lima I will make wifie a Chilcano with ginger syrup tonight. For the more adventurous, the recipe follows. Cheers from Lima.

Ingredients:

One jigger Peruvian Pisco (use the Mosto Verde – Torontel variety if possible)
Half a jigger of Ginger syrup
A dash of Angostura Bitters
Juice of half a Peruvian lime (somewhat similar to a large key lime), leave the seeds that fall in for effect
Top off with Ginger Ale (about three jigger’s worth)
Add an ice-cube or two and gently stir.

Arequipa: Quinoa, Cochineal, and Alpaca Pizza along with a Russian Hind Helicopter

Posted on November 16, 2014 by captainjack66

Diplomonkey is on the move again this week heading out to Arequipa, a thousand kilometers south of Lima and a world apart. There is nothing like a 4:00 a.m. pickup for a 6:45 a.m. flight, fortunately there is always Starbucks coffee at Lima’s airport to brighten Diplomonkey’s morning. Yippy!

The early morning flight on LAN airways is not bad, nice plane (even for an Airbus) and a friendly crew, which is always a plus even on short flights. More interesting however is the view from 36,000 feet. The terrain from the air is wildly tortured; punctuated by mountains that seem to grow on top of each other only to be separated by unbelievably deep gorges. Peru is a truly a land ripped asunder by the ancient Titans.

Approach to Arequipa

Dry, sunny Arequipa is a welcoming city set at respectable 2,328 meters (7,638 feet) above sea level. It is a charming city full of interesting sights and sounds.

Arequipa Street Scene – Arequipa Women

Arequipa Street Scene – Yellow Fire Truck

A city since the days of King Charles I of Spain, Arequipa retains much of its colonial legacy intact (some 332 hectares). Work, alas demands that Diplomonkey leave exploration of the city for later in evening.

There is however time for a quick Starbucks mocha coffee stop on the way out-of-town. A treat made all that sweeter by affording Diplomonkey a glimpse of a condor basking in the sun on a neighboring water tower.

Outside of Arequipa, Diplomonkey hits the Pan American Highway. His drive south takes him along the Cerro Verde mine’s side roads; roadways populated with heavy trucks, tunnel construction, and even llama crossings.

Beware, Llama Crossing

Off the sierra and on the coastal plain, Diplomonkey visits quinoa plantations and a cactus farm where cacti pads are purposefully infected with cochineals (a sessile parasite) that produces the crimson-colored natural dye carmine (both used as a food coloring and in cosmetics such as lipstick). For those inclined to know more, here is the Wikipedia cochineal link.

Cochineal-infested Cacti

Cochineal buggies, before…

…and after.

In a day just full of treats, Diplomonkey even gets buzzed by one of Peru’s Russian-made Mil Mi-25d Hind helicopters operating out of La Joya. Oh what a treat, so much fun.

Peruvian Air Force Hind Helicopter

Harvesting Quinoa by Hand

Threshing Quinoa by Hand

Road back to Arequipa – Chachani and Surrounding Peaks

With work done and the sun quickly setting, Diplomonkey starts back up the mountain. Two hours later, Diplomonkey checks into his Arequipa hotel. A quick call to wifie to see how she, the Samster, and JackJack are doing is followed by exploration of Arequipa’s historic center (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Wrapping up the evening is a late night dinner of alpaca Carpaccio pizza and a Pisco Chilcano with extra ginger root at one of Gaston Acurio’s restaurants.

Arequipa Street Scene – Cathedral Basilica of St. Mary

Diplomonkey’s stay in Arequipa, only a day and a half, is too short. He plans to return with the family in tow next time. As he boards his return flight to Lima, Diplomonkey makes a mental note to recommend to any would be Peru explorer to add Arequipa to their visit to do list.

Cheers.

Diplomonkey’s Quito Adventures

Posted on November 11, 2014 by captainjack66

Just back from stateside travel, Diplomonkey is required once again to travel, this time north to Ecuador. Yippee! The adage goes that there is no rest for the wicked; and old Diplomonkey is such a wicked little monkey – no bananas for you today, buddy boy.

So despite being home for less than a week, and that after nearly three weeks on the road, Diplomonkey heads out to Lima’s airport at dawn on a fine Sunday morning to catch a flight to white country map-land as eldest son Samtser refers to Peru’s northern neighbor. Why does Carmina Burana: O Fortuna roll around Diplomonkey’s noggin?

An unexpectedly quick, but still hour-long drive to the airport is followed by an hour-long wait to check in his bag. It seems that the traffic absent on Lima’s streets decided that Sunday morning to congregate in the Lima airport terminal. Oh well.

Fortunately there’s just enough time left before boarding to make a quick stop at Starbucks; ah the siren song of mocha coffee tempts Diplomonkey.

Starbucks Mocha Coffee and Alfajor

Fortified however by great coffee and an alfajor, Diplomonkey like an elephant in a china shop bursts through the ranks of massed well-wishers anxiously waving kinsfolk, friends, and significant others off to clear the security picket. At immigrations he is greeted by a somber official and given the de rigueur bureaucratic stare down. Not deterred, Diplomonkey pleasantly smiles and bids the straight-laced Ms. Bureaucrat a fond Starbucks mocha coffee-laden farewell. Ah the joys of another travel day.

Airborne, Diplomonkey sees Lima quickly fade away as his plane heads out over the Pacific and then northwards along the coast.

Peru’s Northern Coast

He stares out his window and beholds a tawny-colored arid coastal plain sandwiched between a deep blue-colored ocean and the white snow-capped peaks of the Andes in the distance.

The rarefied air at 35,000 feet always makes Diplomonkey wonder at how fortunate he is to have such a great career.

By late afternoon Diplomonkey makes it out to Quito and his home-away-from-home favorite hotel with its view of the snow-capped Cotopaxi volcano.

Quito City in the Shadow of Cotopaxi Volcano

Picking up a city map at the front desk and grabbing his trusty iPhone and well-traveled Nikon D-70, Diplomonkey heads out in search of Quito’s famed native handicrafts market – a leisurely twenty-minute walk down the road.

Quito Craft Market Woman

Quito Craft Market Women

Quito Craft Market – Buyers and Sellers

Quito Craft Market – Pan Flute Player and Wares

At the market, on Calle Jorge Washington (i.e., George Washington street), Diplomonkey sees cool handicrafts. Limited funds, and even less free bag space, will limit purchases on this trip. Diplomonkey realizes that retail therapy must be kept at a bare minimum, with photographinating compensating for the purchasing shortfall. Ah the joys of Chimping in one of Diplomonkey’s favorite Andean cities!

Quito Craft Market – Local Cloth

Quito Craft Market – Cotopaxi Volcano Painting

Quito Craft Market – Local Animal Spirit Masks

Cheers!

USS Texas (BB-35), Flagship of the Texas Navy

Posted on November 2, 2014 by captainjack66

With meetings over and the first free time in two weeks, Diplomonkey uses his downtime to visit a gran dame of Texas. So he heads out to La Porte (on the Houston Ship Channel) with his Nikon D-70 in hand to visit the USS Texas State Historic Site, home to the last of the great dreadnoughts still afloat.

USS Texas BB-35

Houston Ship Channel: Tug Eloy Rivera and the Maritime Prosperity (Bulk Carrier)

A bygone era’s impressive centenarian (the USS Texas’ keel was laid down in 1911 and commissioned in 1914), this gray behemoth of steel saw action in Mexican waters in the wake of the Tampico Incident. The USS Texas, fondly nicknamed “Old T,” also made numerous sorties into the North Sea during the Great War (that’s World War I).

USS Texas Forward Gun Turrets

During World War II, she escorted war convoys across the Atlantic and shelled Axis-held beaches during the North African campaign and the Normandy Landings. In the Pacific theater, Old T provided naval gunfire support during the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Anti-Aircraft Gun

Anti-Aircraft Gun Foot Rest

With the war won and the Axis threat eliminated, the USS Texas despite decommissioning (1948) avoids the scrap yard. The Navy opts instead to transfer Old T to Texas on April 21, date of the decisive 1836 Battle of San Jacinto that ended the War for Texas independence; leading to the Republic of Texas’ creation.

The USS Texas serves today as the first battleship memorial in the United States, as well as is the commissioned flagship of the Texas Navy.

USS Texas Dual 14″/45 Caliber Gun Turrets

So next time you are in Houston take a drive out to the San Jacinto battlegrounds, there you will find the USS Texas. Most of Old T is readily accessible, they even have special hard hat and flashlight tours for the off limit areas. A truly unique vessel, a great place to take the kids to get them interested in all things navy. Consider also making a donation for her upkeep.

Anti-Aircraft Guns Under Restoration

Restoration Work

Naval Jack – 48 State Stars

Cheers!

Of Bulls, Heifers and Cold Beer

Posted on October 18, 2014 by captainjack66

With negotiations and consultations now behind him, Diplomonkey hits the road to Florida by dawn’s early light. Thanks to United Airline’s really nice counter person at Reagan (DCA), who went out of her way to help, Diplomonkey catches his Orlando via Newark flight. The logistics of going north to go south are just astounding.

USDA Prime Beef Slab

In Newark, Diplomonkey gets to double dip; he gets both his Starbucks fix and salivates over Gallaghers’ meaty, 21-day old dry aged USDA prime beef slabs on display. Although torturous, this is nothing less than a favorable omen for such a nomadic, unrepentant carnivore.

Cheerfully boarding his southbound flight, Diplomonkey catches up on Top Gear episodes, orders a Tapas box and red wine; ah life is good. But Diplomonkey knows all to well that the respite at 35,000 feet is short-lived, for it marks the start of ten straight days of twelve-hour plus workdays.

Reaching Mickey Mouse country, Orlando for the uninitiated in all things Disney, Diplomonkey heads off to one of Florida’s largest cattle ranches. Here he meets astoundingly gentle giants which act more like pampered farm dogs than thousand pound plus medium-frame young bulls. They also crap prolifically, much like their extinct Aurochs forebears, so mind your step, and theirs when around them.

Little Big Bulls – Florida Brahmans

Avoiding being crushed by these beasties, as well as not stepping in their poop, is no small matter. It builds up a hearty appetite for, do I dare say…beef. But lo and behold, there is no beef for Diplomonkey that night since he dillydallies at the ranch immersed in the talk of cattle.

Florida Cattle at Sunset

Red Brangus at Sunset

So poor Diplomonkey eases his hunger that evening with something other than beef. He ambles à la John Wayne into the first late night open eatery available and orders the special – all you can eat pork ribs, as well as quench his thirst with well-chilled Yuengling beer (from America’s oldest brewery, of course).

Diplomonkey volunteers to his traveling companions that he is courageously taking one for the team; to prove that there is no trichinae in the U.S. pork. The sacrifices we make. Thank you, please I will have some more Porky Pig.

Service Animal/ Pet Relief Area

Travel to Madison, Wisconsin via Detroit (DTW), the latter of which has a great, animal friendly airport, follow visits to Orlando and Gainesville. For those that have served in the Middle East and traveled with four-legged hairy buddies, this sort of attention is always a big deal. But old Diplomonkey, who misses family and dog, digresses.

Holstein Cows

Early morning meetings follow a midnight arrival in Madison, as well a visit to the Wisconsin World Dairy Expo. Again Diplomonkey sees spectacular animals and meets wonderful people. But the hunger for beef grows by the minute; bananas are just not quite doing it for him any longer.

So with his erstwhile companions in tow, Diplomonkey heads out that evening in search of animal protein matter, preferably bovine. Across from the state capitol, at Madison’s Old Fashion restaurant, Diplomonkey comes across one of the best burgers and fries that he has ever had and to top it off great local IPA.

Capitol Building – Madison, Wisconsin

In the course of the evening not only does Diplomonkey convert his South American pilsner drinking traveling companions to the wonders of American IPA, but also exposes them to that great American spirit known as bourbon – yes, culinary diplomacy at its finest.

Departing Madison for Texas fortified by beef, excellent IPA, and outfitted in a new green John Deere cap, as well as with some great hometown Landjäger sausage in his pack, Diplomonkey is oh so happy.

Houston’s Moonwalker

Greeted in the late evening by Houston’s Moonwaker, Diplomonkey’s travel through the great state of Texas is a blur; one day in Houston followed by another in Madisonville and then two nights in College Station before returning once again to Houston.

But the hunger for beef remains, one that cannot be satiated by salmon or pork chops no matter how delicious. Where is my sirloin, my rib-eye steak, how about my Texas brisket?

Diplomonkey discovers that just outside of College Station, stands the town of Snook, home of Sodolak’s Original Country Inn and its Texas size steaks and burgers. One of the companions, Andy, in all honestly went to Texas A&M and recommended that we stop here to partake of excellent, bountiful, and affordable steaks. Coming off the farm from late evening meetings, we barely beat the closing time clock and place our orders.

19 Ounces Texas Lucy

From Andy’s build up, Diplomonkey realized that this would not be a ramen noodle sort of night, but rather an orgy of beef. The small sirloin steak (let’s call her Texas Lucy, heifer flesh always taste better if it has a name) weighs in alone at nineteen ounces. And for good measure, a can of ice-cold Lone Star beer makes Lucy’s taste all that better.

Steak, two sides, Texas toast and local beer plus tip, came out to less than twenty-five bucks. Proof positive that life on per diem is possible if you know how to look. They advertise orders to go; dreamily Diplomonkey wonders if the delivery area could include Peru.

At the Brahman Bull Wash

Texas A&M Summer Sausage

Texas A&M, like the state of Texas, is a huge but friendly place. Diplomonkey sees state of the art teaching and processing facilities, meets wonderful, capable professionals and academics. The Rosenthal Meat Center’s beef, pork, and lamb offerings, especially the summer football sausage sorely tempts Diplomonkey with its fleshy bounty. Unfortunately Diplomonkey has no way to transport any frozen or chilled meat back to Lima – next time he will come better prepared.

So pleased is Diplomonkey with his Texas A&M visit, that despite being a Hoya, he caves in and buys Aggies memorabilia for the little dudes. Sorry wifie and other fellow Hoyas, just in case the kiddies one day decide to go study agricultural economics and eat beef out there.

In any, case, that evening Texas brisket Bambi follows her rib-eye steak little sister (that’s Ms. Betsy) devoured earlier by Diplomonkey at lunchtime. A truly memorable occasion scouting out animals for export.

Cheers.

Diplomonkey, Naughty Monkey

Posted on October 12, 2014 by captainjack66

Having received special dispensation from the powers that be to travel to Washington at the last moment for negotiations, Diplomonkey hit the road running on a fine Lima Saturday evening.

After a plus two-hour drive to Jorge Chavez International Airport, Diplomonkey finally arrives and proceeds to check in for his United Airlines flight to Washington via Newark. Thanks to his foresight he had checked in earlier that day, opting to use some of his hard-earned dollars to buy an Economy Plus upgrade. Unfortunately, United does not currently accept bananas as form of payment.

Running short on time thanks to Lima’s ridiculously heavy traffic, Diplomonkey forewent his usual pre-flight Starbucks coffee mocha with whipped cream and alfajor fix – Diplomonkey sad, so sad. However with security quickly cleared, on board United’s really nice Boeing 757-200, and settled into his plush Economy plus seat, Diplomonkey is enjoying life.

But it gets better. United’s in flight on demand video is great (got to watch 300: Rise of an Empire, Ancient Aliens, and even a Tom Cruise movie – which is always fun to ding) and had a spectacular meal. The food, even in economy, was not just palatable but really awesome this time. The wine was not too shabby either.

So Diplomonkey stays up late, watches movies, gets some work reading done, and gets to see the sun rise over the USA and is so happy. Diplomonkey had until then not seen the sun in nearly two months. Bright blue skies even make Newark look spectacular.

Turkish Folk Festival Dancers

Okay, Diplomonkey clears immigration and customs, collects his bag and catches his connecting flight to Washington.

Upon arrival in our nation’s capital, Diplomonkey drops off his bag at the hotel and proceeds to go exploring. Happens across the Turkish folk festival and gets great pictures with the now well-travelled Nikon D70.

Turkish Folk Festival Ladies

Turkish Festival Dude

Food Dude

Turkish Folk Festival Dancer

After an afternoon of photographinating, Diplomonkey in urgent need of sustenance hops on the subway and makes his way to his old haunt of Georgetown – yeah, go Hoyas – and hits Pizza Paradisso, mecca of great pizza and home to a spectacular collection of craft beers.

My other love, a Duchesse de Bourgogne

Diplomonkey, being the naughty monkey that he is, decides to get immediately re-acquainted with an old Belgian girlfriend of his, and none other than a Duchesse of Bourgogne that is.

With his Duchesse in hand, Diplomonkey compounds his naughtiness and orders wifie’s favorite pizza, an Atomica.

Pizza Paradisso’s Atomica

Trappistes Rochefort #10

Guilt ridden by his peccadillos, Diplomonkey tries to repent by hooking up with a Trappistes monk, ale that is, and orders himself a Trappistes Rochefort #10 (a quadruple ale).

Ah, life is good.

Lima, rockets, and a pig on a stick – sounds like fun!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by captainjack66

Today is another one of those spectacularly, beautiful sunny days in Lima; that is above 2,000 feet – the FOG is again thick today, aarrgh… So I was pondering this fine afternoon which of our latest dude adventures to write about.

Above Lima’s fog bank.

Do I write about our visit to downtown Lima to see the changing of the presidential guard (at Pizarro’s palace), or the Transformer street performer in Miraflores, or put together something on candid street photography? All great subjects; maybe I could even throw in something on Peruvian ceviche for good measure.

Peruvian Presidential Guard.

Lima Transformer.

Lima banana street vendor.

Okay, in the meantime Samster (Little Big Man) the budding NASA rocket scientist/astronaut comes by and asks: “Daddy, can we build a rocket when we go to Grandma’s house?” This get’s me thinking. Yes, there is hope; grey matter remains in the old noggin even after a week of writing briefing memorandum for not just one but two front offices and for good measure for headquarters back in Washington.

So Little Big Man and I break out that trusty reliquary of St. Jobs of Apple, yes the MacBook and start searching the Internet for the Estes V2 semi-scale model rocket (black and yellow paint pattern) that we decided on last week to build with Pop-Pop (i.e., Grandpa) during our upcoming R&R in Florida (going home for Christmas for the first time in four years – yippie).

YouTube comes to the rescue and we download a couple of the videos – really cool stuff you have to check out. At the same time we come across also some videos of Steve Eves’s Saturn V 1:10 scale model rocket launch and of a homemade Blackbird SR-71 scale model with real working jet turbines. These got a couple of “this is so awesome daddy” from my four year-old.

Although we have a big field in the back of U.S. Embassy Lima, not sure if they will let us shoot rockets off or attempt to fly jet turbine model airplanes despite the coolness factor. I can just imagine what the neighbors would say of our pursuit to find blue skies. Guess it would not meet the front page of Washington Post test either, so let’s pass and wait for a Florida launch.

So tomorrow we are off to Cieneguilla, in pursuit of some feet on the ground sort of altitude that will let us see blue skies. Maybe we will stop at the itty bitty piggy restaurant along the way for a bite of spectacular spit roast suckling pig. Let’s breakout the Nikon and go exploring!

Mountain pass outside of Cieneguilla.

Itty bitty piggy on a stick!

Three, Two, One, Blastoff – Rocket Science in Lima!

Posted on September 14, 2014 by captainjack66

We had some truly spectacular weather this weekend in Lima, the first in a couple of months – yippee. Birthday party and baby shower invites forced us however to stay near to home; so sorry, no wandering in the foothills of the Andes this weekend. Instead we opted to do some science in our patio size backyard. Yep, gone are the days of “oh Mr. Diplomat, your visa stamp is oh so sexy” – I have become a dad!

Trying to simultaneously teach a four- and a two-year old about planes and rockets is not without its challenges. Fortunately, one of the things that made it to Lima House from Cairo House relatively intact was the science exploration box (with its science experiments, balsa planes, chemistry sets, baking soda and vinegar propelled rockets and the like, there is even a robot from the Smithsonian).

Our first order of business was to decide what type of rocket to design. Thanks to Google, research is a piece of cake. So the Diplomonkey design team of three highly trained and motivated engineers decided upon its own interpretation of von Braun’s Ferry Rocket (really cool concept, look it up). I am just amazed by the academic level of sophistication and preparation obtained at the pre-school level these days.

Okay, next we broke out the art supplies that we shipped from Virginia. Armed with a ruler, some paper, and extra thick pencils in hand, the design team drew out our first dude-designed rocket ship. The Samster finished off the schematics by drawing the exhaust blast. I guess that Little Big Man seems to have gotten his inspiration from the YouTube videos we had seen the night before; he did comment, daddy, this is so awesome. Why does David Bowie’s “Major Tom” come to mind? Mission to Mars next?

Rocket Design 101

To test out the principles of aerodynamics, we snagged from the science box a couple of pre-cut balsa gliders that wifie, in her former life as a structured finance banker, had picked up as a give away at an energy conference.

Unfortunately transport of our household effects from Virginia to Cairo, followed by an evacuation that resulted in us not being there for the pack out, and subsequent shipment to Lima after ten months were not kind. The construction and reconstruction engineer however broke out that wonder of repair tools. Yes, the cyanoacrylate adhesive known to mankind as Super Glue! And, of course, my fingers did get stuck together in the process – just part of the fun.

With the glider built and its broken wing and wing tip repaired, and now strengthened for all eternity, flight tests commenced. Three, two, one, blast-off. Our German short-haired pointer (call sign Bird Dog), who tried to eat our “bird” as it was reentering the atmosphere and attempting to land, played the role of the chase plane.

Trying alternative delta wing designs and materials, the team constructed other potential launch and re-entry vehicles from a processed wood pulp and cotton fiber product (yes, paper). The design team had great success, and a good time. In keeping with you know, the Nazca lines and the von Daniken thing, the rocket scientists celebrated with some Peruvian chicha morada.

Nazca Lines – Whale

For those curious enough to try, the simple recipe just takes two to three ears of purple corn, three cinnamon sticks, 12 cups of water, a diced whole pineapple (you can even chuck in the peel), a diced green apple, a tablespoon of whole cloves, a cup of white sugar, and half a cup of lime juice. Allow the ingredients to reach a boil then simmer on medium-low for about 45 minutes. Cool and then serve.

Purple Peruvian Corn

Have a glass of chicha, enjoy the pictures (taken with my Nikon and iPhone), and think creatively. For some of us tomorrow have to go back to work and write briefing memos.

Cheers!

diplomonkey

Chimping around the world!

Tag Archives: Nikon

Postcard from Peru – Iquitos Street Scenes

Okay, I Have Been a Bit of a Slacker #2

Home Again, Off Again…

Arequipa: Quinoa, Cochineal, and Alpaca Pizza along with a Russian Hind Helicopter

Diplomonkey’s Quito Adventures

USS Texas (BB-35), Flagship of the Texas Navy

Of Bulls, Heifers and Cold Beer

Diplomonkey, Naughty Monkey

Lima, rockets, and a pig on a stick – sounds like fun!

Three, Two, One, Blastoff – Rocket Science in Lima!