Why Peru? Why anywhere?

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. " - Robert Louis Stevenson

When people ask me where we are going on our next trip and I mention a foreign country, I sometimes get asked why there and I say why not? I have really loved travelling especially to foreign countries because it puts me out of my comfort zone, forces me to see things from a different perspective and appreciate what I already have. 


After coming back from Australia, I was not just physically exhausted but mentally from such a whirlwind trip. People asked me how the trip was and and where we were headed to next. I was just looking forward to getting back into the swing of things before thinking of where to go next. Once I become restless from the usual routine, that's when I look to see our next adventure will take us to.


In this case it came from an email from my friend Candice. She asked if anyone was interested in going to Peru for a possible yoga retreat/vacation. My eyes immediately lit up as Machu Picchu  was next on my list of places to go. One of the main reasons I had wanted to go to Australia was to see the Great Barrier reef as it is endangered due to climate change. Peru or specifically Machu Picchu was also on the list except endangered due to so much tourism.


Candice had her friend Amanda join us on the trip and we decided the yoga retreat and not suited for us and ended up going on a 10 day escorted tour of Peru which includes stops to Lima, Urubamba, Cuzco and Puno. This was my first trip where I didn't have to plan all aspects of the trip. This was a good and bad thing as I realized during the trip that we would have missed out on some great experiences but at the same time planning a trip is half the fun.

Three Kings Day at Disneyland (Dia de Reyes)

I was going to start my post on the last trip I took which was Peru but I also wanted to include local places that I find interesting, Last weekend was Dia de Reyes which Disneyland celebrated for the first time. I wanted to check it out since it had been a long time since I had celebrated this and was curious as to what they would do. It celebrates the visit of the Three Kings or Three Wise Men who visited Jesus when he was born.

The events all took place in Zocalo Park which is between Big Thunder Mountain and Rancho Del Zocalo restaurant in Frontierland. When we arrived Mariachi Divas was just starting, We had seen them perform at California Adventure and enjoy listening to them whenever we can.

They had traditional Mexican dancers who danced various styles from the different regions of Mexico.

They also had displays explaining the celebration and traditions which were very colorful! 

Mariachi Divas took requests and everyone wanted them to do "Volver, Volver" which is a classic song sung by Vicente Fernandez and a song I grew up listening to. They wrapped their set with "It's A Small World" which has a place in my heart since I grew up with the record single.

Check out my YouTube video of their performance below:

http://youtu.be/OpGqjSlSA6I

When they took a break, we were going to start going on some rides and lo and behold, music started playing and an impromptu parade started. It featuring dancers and Mickey & Minnie Mouse dressed in traditional Mexican outfits. It reminded me of Peru where we were lucky enough to watch parades in several of the cities.

They even brought out Los Tres Caballeros!

Disneyland also had a special menu at Rancho Del Zocalo restaurant of holiday tamales which I wanted to try out. It certainly didn't have the homemade flavor but it was decent and the green chile sauce gave it a little kick (i.e. flavor).

They also had mini Rosca de Reyes or Kings ring bread. I considered buying one but the one they had on display didn't look too appetizing. In the traditional bread, a plastic baby Jesus is baked in the bread to represent that Jesus had to be hidden to avoid being killed. Whoever gets that piece is blessed and in charge of hosting the next get together. In the Disneyland version, they use an almond in place of Jesus. 

I really enjoyed it and one of the cast members interviewed me to ask me questions about the festivities. I could tell they were doing research to see whether it should be brought back again next year. I highly recommend it and hopefully they will bring it back next year. I missed the Dia de la Muerte last year but won't miss it again!