28 hours on a bus and we finally made it to Cuenca, Ecuador

The next stop on our itinery is Cuenca, Ecuador. We hopped on a bus and traveled north on a 15 hour bus ride. The bus company we feel has the best service and safety for the money is called Cruz Del Sur. The buses are clean, have a bathroom, and the seats recline "semi- cama", which is like a recliner chair. They also show movies and give you a hot dinner. It's very similar to traveling by plane, except it takes a lot longer. We paid $36 per person. We did look into flights to Cuenca and the best deal we found at the time was around $250 per person. Since we are budget travelers we decided to torture ourselves for a total of 28 hours via bus. We stopped in a town called Piura which we had been to before. We didn't love the city enough to pay $100 for a 2 star hotel for the night, so we kept going. We arrived in Piura at 7a.m. and got on the next bus at 9:00a.m. This bus was not as fancy, but it was fairly clean and comfortable. The tickets cost us $13 each person and took us over the Ecuadorean border in 8 hours. Ok, so five more hours to get to our destination. We arrive at the bus stop in Loja, Ecuador at 5:30 p.m. check the bus schedule to see when the buses to Cuenca are leaving. Unfortunatley, the last one is leaving in 10 minutes. We buy our tickets,which cost $4 each, grab dinner to go and literally run to the bus and jump on. We finally arrive to Cuenca at 11:00p.m. It's nice to be on our feet and off the bus. Which we never had to ride a bus again!

Miraflores, Lima

We flew into Lima, Peru and stayed for a month. We rented a short term apartment off of a site called apartmentclubperu.com. They offer nicely furnished apartments in good, safe locations. We paid about $1600 for the month, which included all utilities and services. This came out to around $53 a day. For a family of five traveling, it was difficult to find a decent hotel at that price. It was a little more than we like to spend but, the plus was that we could cook our own meals and save money this way. We stayed in Miraflores, which is the upscale neighborhood overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Miraflores boasts high rise apartments and condominiums, restaurants, cafes, shopping, parks and a beautiful mall built into the side of a cliff. It is an ideal neighborhood which Peru has groomed to be one of their most attractive tourist destinations. We got to live like locals for a month and discovered little nooks and crannies we had not seen during our last visit. It was nice to enjoy the average 75 degree weather, walk along the waterfront, sit in green parks and indulge in fresh caught seafood.

This seafood platter we really enjoyed at a restaurant called "Sofia" in Chorillos, Lima. It was around $12.00 and was fresh caught by the owner that morning.( This a restaurant Anthony Bourdain went to so, we just had to check it out. We really like Anthony Bourdain and have gone to a lot of the same restaurants he has gone to in different countries. We call it the Anthony Bourdain food tour.)

This is a photo of Lima's skyline and the fishing boats on the Pacific Ocean.

People relaxing on the beach under colorful umbrellas.

Christmas in Lima was surreal!

Pelicans hanging out at the outdoor fish market.

Sign up for Air Watch on tripadvisor.com to get great deals on airfare.

I have to share the EXTRAORDINARY GREAT DEAL we got from signing up for Air Watch on Trip Advisor.com. If you set up a profile and subscribe for Air Watch, you can put in your cities of departure and arrival. It will then send you an email periodically to let you know what the best price other travelers have been booking for that particular month. If you have followed my blog in the past, you may know that we spent over 4 months touring South America about a year ago. Out of all the 6 countries we traveled through we really had a liking for Lima, Peru. So, when I signed up for Air Watch I put Detroit to Lima as my two cities. I received an email late August with an email alert saying that the best airfare to Lima for December $427 rt. When it sends you the alert it shows the airfare for 3 consecutive months. The average price for airfare to Lima from Detroit is usually between $800-$1000 rt. We could n't believe how cheap the airfare was at $427!We thought it was a hoax , actually We were talking about how it would be nice to go somewhere for the winter and ditch the cold temperatures. But frankly, we did not think we could afford to do that this year. It was quite a surprise and we weren't quite prepared for such a nice gift! We tossed the idea around for a few days and weighed out the finances. After much deliberation and prayer, we decided to go for it! As I attempted to book our flight, four days had passed since I received the email email alert. Would the tickets still be available? To my dismay, of course not!Oh well, we missed out. We were really disappointed but it was our fault for not jumping on the opportunity. A week later I received another email letting me know that tickets to Lima were on sale for $417 rt. This was even cheaper than before! We immediately went on line and booked 5 round trip tickets to Lima leaving December 4th coming back March 20th. We were going to escape the cold winter months of Michigan and enjoy the year round 70 degree weather of Lima, Peru. Yippee! We did it. And here we are, as Michigan has record freezing temperatures and snow fall. What a blessing!

Cheap natural cleaning products

It's been over 3 years since I have gone almost completely chemical free in the household cleaning area. Toxic chemicals have been found to be respiratory irritants which can cause severe health issues with short term and long term use. These chemicals can also be carcinogenic. If you read the labels on cleaners, there is even a warning stating these things. Personally, when I have used chemical cleaners, my nose starts running and my chest feels heavy and I start coughing. Why would I want to submit myself and my family to health hazards. When I was pregnant with my youngest son, Asher, this prompted alot of changes in our daily living. I started using white distilled vinegar and water for disenfecting and cleaning surfaces, toilet bowls and cutting grease and build up. Vinegar along with baking soda works like "scrubbing bubbles" and a plumbing snake. Just pour about a half cup of baking soda down a slow or clogged drain along with a cup of vinegar and hear the combination do it's work. Wait a few minutes and then run hot water or boiling water to flush and amazingly it is clear and unclogged! I fill a spray bottle about a third with vinegar and then the rest with water. I use this in the kitchen for countertops, degreasing the stove, cleaning the stainless steel fridge as well as the inside. I keep a bottle in every bathroom for disenfecting the sinks and toilets, cleaning the soapcum in the shower and making the mirrors shine. In the bathtub for removing stains and tougher grime, I use baking soda with a wet sponge and then a final rinse with vinegar. I also use vinegar in the laundry as a softner and stain remover. I fill a bucket half way with hot water and 1/4 cup of vinegar to wash our hard wood floors and trim.

"Vinegar has been found to be effective in reducing levels of E.coli on various surfaces(e.g., laminate, wood, tile, concrete, stainless steel, and granite).Vinegar has been used commercially to reduce microorganisms in slaughterhouses and poultry plants; to reduce mineral and lime deposits in bathroom pipes; to prevent milk stone buildup in tanks used by the milk industry; to clean vehicles and equiptment used in the construction industry and to wash and rinse walls and ceilings in restaurants and food establishments.Cleaning with vinegar is much safer and cheaper than using commercial products and has the following additional advantage:

It's biodegradable- a mild organic acid
It's easy to dispense and cotrol
It's safe for stainless steel, used by the food industry
It's relatively non-toxic and , so safe for handling
It's less likely to leave harmful residues behind
It has a pleasant, clean smell
It can be used where environmental considerations are especially important." This is taken from the book "Vinegar 1001 Practical Uses" by Margaret Briggs

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to go chemical free in the household cleaning department. I buy a gallon jug of white vinegar at Meijer for around $3.00 . Baking soda is even cheaper. Another cleansing agent that is made of naturally derived ingredients is Bon Ami. The ingredient list taken from www.bonami.com is as follows:
"Baking soda,bodegradable cleansing agents derived from corn, palm and coconut, citric acid, corn alcohol, epsom salts, natural essential oils, feldspar, limestone,soda ash,tallow soap,water, xanthan gum,ph adjuster and biodegradable preservatives". This is great to use if you want something with a little more grit for scrubbing. It's in powder form and is very inexpensive as well at around $1.94 or less for 14 oz. I usually get it from TARGET in the natural cleaning section.

My latest DIY Project

I'm so bad at remembering to take before photos! This was an antique dresser that my husband picked up from the curb.(garbage) My husband loves keeping antiques in it's natural state, so to him the idea of painting good wood is a bad idea. But, this particular piece was not in the best shape, it had obviously sat out in the rain and we had to rip out the back panel. And, my husband was out of town for 3 weeks,and couldn't talk me out of it. So, I went paint happy. I decided to paint it black and scuff it up to make it look shabby. I used a half quart of Behr Premium Paint with the primer built in for efficiency and cost effectiveness,which I bought from Homedepot. It was missing two knobs, so I decided since it was a free piece, I could splurge on the knobs. I got the pretty ceramic knobs from Anthropology, one of my favorite stores, for $12.00 each. The whole project cost me around $50.

Printable coupons and digital coupons

Although I love a great deal, I've never been much of a couponer for groceries. I've signed up for saving's cards and I do buy things on sale, of course. I just never have the time to sit and cut out coupons. I found this site that has all kinds of coupons you can print or you can store digitally on your phone. NO need for scissors or paper waste. It's definitely worth checking out. I shop frequently at Wholefoods and Meijer's and it takes you right to the site for coupons. It's very convenient, a onestop shop for coupons and savings. Here's the link:



http://www.shopathome.com/grocery-coupons/shopathome.aspx?SID=11524394

Tell me what you think!

Free Children's Activities for the summer- Sign Up Now

I just signed up for this awesome free bowling program this week. www.kidsbowlfree.com is the site to register all your children 15 years and under. They will receive 2 FREE games of bowling , everyday, all summer long at participating bowling alley's in your area. GO to the site and click on your state, a page with all the cities and the bowling alley's will pop up. You pick the alley closest to you and then register your kids. After you submit, a special offer screen pops up for $24.95 a one time fee which gives the adults and your kids over the age of 15, 2 games every day as well. After a few visits, this special offer will pay for itself and then your bowling for free with the kids. The only thing you have to pay for is the shoe rental. We went to Dick's Sporting Goods and found bowling shoes for around $24.00. I'm sure little kids sizes are probably cheaper.

Another program to sign up is similiar, but involves roller skates. www.kidsskatefree.com
It's the same kind of program, but the age cut off is 10 year old and under. Check it out!
It's all about staying physically active, spending time together and saving money.