The Konigsberg Bridge Problem and Pisco Sours

Day 1 – June 13, 2107

First and foremost, all four of us are grateful to our wives who are graciously agreeable to us having the trip of a lifetime. Although if it is up to me, there may be other such fanciful trips in the future.

Today was simply a travel day from Indianapolis to Lima, Peru. The most eventful happenings today were the deliberations on how to get 4 guys to the airport without leaving a car at the airport or at anyone’s house. If you want to hear this story and about drinking Pisco Sours in Lima, read on. Otherwise, there is little else to report so you can skip this blogpost and move to Day 2 if you like.

The deliberations on how to get 4 guys (3 from Indy and 1 from Cincinnati) all into one location to be loaded into one car with the minimum amount of travel/pick-ups was a bit mind-boggling. In case there are any mathematical types reading this, it’s kind of like the Konigsberg Bridge problem first resolved by the spectacular mathematician Leonard Euler in 1736. I am sure our deliberations took longer than Euler and they started several days in advance of the trip. Anyway back to the story. 

First, there were plans to have Joe (Cincinnati) and Adam (Indy) meet at my (Steve’s) house, then go to Barry’s house (Indy – and closer to the airport), where we all load up and Monica (Barry’s wife; my daughter) would take us to the airport and drop us off. But wait, Debbie has to go as well so she can stay at Barry’s house and babysit the 3 boys (ages 2-6) while Monica drives. But wait, maybe Joe can just pick up Adam on his way to my house and then Adam doesn’t have to drive or have Maria (Adam’s wife, my daughter) drop him off at my house. But wait, Maria has to take her kids to vacation Bible school, so Steve was going to pick up Adam and bring him back to my house. But wait, maybe Joe should just go to Barry’s house, and Steve can pick up Adam and drive to Barry’s house with Debbie followed by Monica driving us to the airport. But Steve’s car and Joe’s car are now at Monica’s. Why can’t Joe come to my house and Barry and Monica bring their kids to my house for Debbie to babysit, then go on to Adam’s house to pick him up and on to the airport? But wait, Monica’s kids have swim lessons and she cannot make all those routes work. ... You get the idea. There were many other iterations [paths] involving many scenarios [graphs], including who babysits whom and where [hence the reference to the Konigsberg Bridge problem and the inception of graph theory in mathematics.]

After as many permutations of who is going where by when (kind of like the Keystone Cops or the “Who’s on first” routine), our version of Leonard Euler, Adam, says, “Wait! Maria … you work downtown [closer to the airport]. Why can’t you take us to the airport? Joe goes to Steve’s house and leaves the car. Monica and Barry come from swim lessons to Steve’s house to drop Barry off. Maria brings Adam to Steve’s house and takes us all to the airport, while Monica takes her kids home [no babysitting involved].” Problem solved. Who knew Adam was an expert in graph theory.

Our flights were uneventful. The first leg was to Miami Beach, Florida and we had to sit in Economy Class on our small plane, while the second and longer leg to Lima was in Business Class with all its amenities and comforts.

  

The accommodations in "royalty class" were great and the food (red snapper and braised short ribs) was excellent. When we arrived in Lima (about 9PM local time), our guide, Luis, met us outside the baggage claim and escorted us to the Wyndham Hotel, which is directly across from the airport baggage claim. We checked in and received complimentary drinks at the bar. We all decided to try the national drink of Peru – the Pisco Sour, an interesting combination of alcohol, lime juice, bitters and egg whites! It was reasonably good, but did not achieve a 10 rating. Also, it was here we learned that all of Peru is abuzz with their National Football team winning a match earlier in the evening against Jamaica. I am not sure why they were so celebratory for beating up on the little guy (score 3-1). But that’s football.

Tomorrow … a morning flight to Cusco. From sea level (Lima on the coast) to Cusco at 11,500 feet in the Andes. We cannot wait!