Forrest Payne has reached new heights.
A BMO Harris employee, he credits his boss Kim Langfeld for giving him the month-long unpaid leave that allowed him to hike  Machu Picchu and see the sights of Peru and Chile.
Forrest presented highlights of his trip at the April 5 Rotary meeting. He first caught the travel bug as a student at UW-Stevens Point when he studied abroad in London, he said.
Forrest arrived in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 1 and said it’s a beautiful city of about 10 million people, though hectic and seemingly devoid of traffic laws.
He spent some days in tourist areas including Cusco, Peru, in the Andes Mountains.
There he tasted sushi and guinea pig, which appears like a rat on a stick and tastes like a combination of pork and chicken.
He took several tours in Cusco exploring historic sites, he said, learning about alpaca and llamas and visiting the Rainbow Mountains.
His tour group hiked the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. While the first day was an easy hike, day two followed a steep incline. Chefs in the group cooked their meals, and they slept in tents during the nights.
The group was told to keep up, as stragglers could be attacked by pumas, he said.
Peru has a lot of variety, with mountains and desert, and the people seem very happy.
Afterwards, Forrest visited Valparaiso, the capitol of Chile, once the largest South American port city prior to the Panama Canal.
The slogan there is, “We’re Not Hippies, We’re Happies.”
Forrest said the main attraction was a volcano, which he hiked and then sledded down.
The group also happened upon a German festival with lots of local people celebrating, he said. Forrest said he made several new friends on his travels.

Other news:
– Nick Mischler announced that the Waunakee Public Art Committee has received a $1,300 grant from Dane Arts for its sculpture project. Sculpture artist Michael Kalish also had a good time visiting the community, meeting with school staff and students.
–The Club committees did not confirm for club assembly, which usually happens on the first Thursday of the month. If committee chairs have news to share, they can use the ClubRunner website.
 
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Guests: Caitlyn Durden, guest of Patrick Durden; Ben Ballweg, guest of Ken Ballweg.

 

Visiting Rotarians: None.

 

Birthdays: None.

 

Anniversaries: April 12, Phil and Kathy Simon; April 13, George and Lynn Ohlendorf.

 

Greeters: April 12, Taylor Endres and Gary Epping; April 19, Bill Erickson and Dan Evans; April 26, Allison Feldbruegge and Jim Fitzpatrick; May 3, Greg Garton and Randy Guttenberg.