Peruuuuuuuu!!!!

WOW! Yes, that is the first word that comes to mind when I think of my Peruvian adventure :-)And, an adventure it was! From the initial planning process all the way through the trip it was destined to be a trip to remember. I have been interested in attending the Americas Y El Caribe event since I heard of it 3 years ago, this was the year it actually worked out! Initial plans were to take Journey and SoBe, ultimately it tuned out to be SoBe's turn to be the one in the spotlight all by herself. My biggest concern was the fact that SoBe is a 20/22" jumping dog and in Peru I knew she was required to jump 26". SoBe has always been a very good jumper and I knew she had the skills just not the practical experience. Well, she performed beyond my wildest dreams for sure! More about that later :-) So, plans were made and off we went! I will say it most certainly took a village to make it happen however! I have to thank Daisy Peel for turning me onto this amazing competition and for being a super team leader and travel mate, Oscar Daste for helping bridge the communication barrier and for being so helpful and supportive all the way through the trip! Lea Harvey for making the veterinary stuff a breeze, Lori Mitchell for being "the other" super vet that helped me out, Tina and Dean for always taking the best care of my animals, and, Max200 for being great friends, supporters and believers in team Stacy! The trip started out with an incredibly early drive to the airport which BTW started off unlike most of my trips as the flight was actually on time!!!! I did the part that I always dread the most and checked SoBe in for her flight and away we went! I had a 7 hour layover in Dallas so that I could collect SoBe and let her have some time off the airplane and out of the crate. I met up with Daisy and Oscar in Dallas and we headed to our next flight and final destination of Lima, Peru! We arrived in Peru around midnight on the 1st and got our first taste of the hustle and bustle of Peru. After we got the dogs we had to check in with immigration and present our paperwork, vet certificates, etc… this was a long slow process but all went well ;-) Next was the first serious adventure of the trip, the taxi ride!!!! Another WOW! traffic in Peru is incredible and the way that people drive literally takes your breath away :-) Somehow they create at least 5 lanes out of 3 and weave in and out of traffic like maniacs! Intersections are free for alls and everyone sort of meets in the middle and somehow by osmosis they know who's "turn" is who's. I spent a lot of time I was in Taxi's with my eyes closed!! I think out is fascinating though that we never saw a single traffic accident the entire time we were there! They epitomize the term defensive driving for sure! Oscar arranged for Daisy, Oscar, and, myself to have an apartment for the week which was awesome! There was even a Starbucks right down the street! We arrived around 2:30 a.m. I think! Tuesday was a day off so we went exploring, found the beach, got some groceries, just acclimated for a day. It was great to have this opportunity, I don't think any of us had any idea of what the rest of the week was going to be like and the rest on the first day probably saved us :-)We did get in a little bit of culture too! Went to some ruins that were right in the middle of the little burg we were staying in, it was incredibly cool to get to experience a bit of the Peruvian history. The competition was located in a little town called Molina and it was about 40 minute drive in light traffic, so, you get it more like 1.5 to 2 hours every day back and forth!!! OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, it was only that long the first morning we dialed it back to and hour fifteen to hour and a half the other days :-) We were picked up by the bus at 5:45 a.m. each morning made one stop to pick up the majority of the Columbian team and off to the site we went! The drive was incredible, to see the city in all of it's glory and not so much glory in places was an incredible experience for sure. The stadium where the competition was to be held was beautiful and was right next door to a local merchant alley that most competitors frequented for lunch each day. We set up our crating area and headed down for the vet check and team practice.The surface we were to compete on was an older turf but the dogs did well on it. THe biggest drawback to the turf was how incredibly hot it got! Practice went really well and was followed that evening by opening ceremonies. It was also a chance to start to get to know the competitors from the other countries :-) The South Americans are incredible people and we all seemed to become instant friends! After the opening ceremonies we were treated to a local adult beverage that the Peruvians drink Pisco sours! They could easily join margaritas as my favorite beverage! Pisco is a strong Brandy made from grapes that is made in Peru, one word YUM!!!!! Another thing we learned very early on the first day is how incredibly hilly Peru is and that you need to take stairs to do and go pretty much everything and everywhere! The steps to the competition ring were brutal and thankfully provided all of the exercise anyone could possibly need for the week! Between the steps and the looooong days it was not a worry that any weight would be gained on this trip. Because it is advised that you do not eat fresh vegetables we sustained pretty much on meat, cheese, rice, and, potatoes :-) I did learn how amazing empanadas are and had those a few times too! We were picked up each day of the competition at 5:45 a.m. and returned to our apartment around 10:00 p.m. to say we were tired would be an understatement, but, it was a wonderful exhaustion as the days were filled with agility, and, friends both old and new! The courses were incredible, they were also Long! Numberwise they were not much longer than what we are used to, 21-23 obstacles, but, the course distances were incredible! I would say that the length of the field was at least 130 feet and 100 feet wide and the judges used every inch! Although the courses were very challenging, and, technical they were at the same time flowing and sensible. long and the short of it FUN!!!! It was wonderful to be able to put into practice all of the fancy moves that we are plying with these days and even better was to use them in places that they actually made sense! SoBe was a superstar! She jumped 26" for the first time ever in competition and was amazing! The skills that she had to employ to get over these jumps from the angles, backsides, etc… took my breath away! I was so proud of my girl I cannot even put it into words! I was pretty darn proud of myself too! I handled the courses just the way I wanted to, I planned my runs and ran my plan!! I walked the courses for the most efficient path and never once felt like I was playing it safe! Yea me!!!! It was an incredible rush to go out and just get it done! I can say in all truthfulness that SoBe and I are ready for the Netherlands and our next big adventure!!