The Goodrums

We are back from our two week adventure in beautiful Peru. We were so blessed to have the opportunity to hang out with my sister, Kelly, after having gone more than a year without seeing her. We had a blast spending time with her and traversing the Peruvian countryside.

Here's a quick preview of our experiences. I'll post more pictures over the next few weeks.

The City & Coast - Lima




















Kelly, me, Mom and Michael in the plaza by the Presidential Palace and the catacombs

Lima was a big city - for sure. Lots of people, lots of traffic, lots of smog. We hit some of the main attractions - plazas, the catacombs, the Miraflores district, Union street, the Inka Market, Chili's (yumm... the real Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie in the skillet!). Like many international cities, Lima was pretty modern. It had "normal" restaurants and stores like you see in the States. The grocery store was equivalent to home, etc. Not so in some of the other areas. :)

The Mountains, Ruins & History - Cuzco, Machu Picchu















Our group at some ruins (Sacsaywaman) outside of Cuzco

Our second stop on the trip was in Cuzco - in the southeastern part of the country. We spent five full days in Cuzco. During our first few days in Cuzco we toured much of the surrounding areas - seeing indian markets, towns, cathedrals and lots of ruins. It was much chillier in Cuzco since we were in the mountains and Peru is in the dead of winter right now (although Peru is very close to the equator so their winters are relatively mild). After three days in Cuzco, we headed to Machu Picchu and spent two days touring the ruins there.















Machu Picchu

For reference in the pictures below - Wayna Picchu is the big peak you see in this picture behind Machu Picchu. On our second day at Machu Picchu, we climbed Wayna Picchu with our whole group. What a huge accomplishment - especially given that several people have a fear of heights!




















Hiking up Wayna Picchu - Go sis!















Yet Another Highpoint
On top of Wayna Picchu




















Headed down...
This gives you a little idea of what the trail was like.















We did it!
The entire group at the bottom - Michael, Jennifer, Barbara (Sarah's mom), Mom B, Sarah (Kelly's roommate in Pucallpa), Emily (Sarah's sister), Kelly

While in Peru, we had the privilege and blessing of traveling with super wonderful people! Kelly's (my sister) roomate, Sarah, who also teaches at the SAM Academy in Pucallpa, Peru, and Sarah's family joined with us in all the travels. They were immediately like family and we loved getting to share our experiences with us! There were many laughs and lots of good times.

The Jungle, The Heat - Pucallpa

And then there was Pucallpa... What to say here?? Ha ha...

So let's start by picturing Jackson, Mississippi or Southern Louisiana or Houston, Texas for that matter in the dead of summer - 100 degrees, 100% humidity. Take away the air conditioning - only ceiling fans for relief. Take away windows - replace with screens, bugs and dust - oh yeah and don't forget tons of black smoke from the wood factories on both sides of your house. Oh and did I mention that this is WINTER! It's like summer camp but it's not just for 2 weeks friends.

In all seriousness, Pucallpa was one of my favorite parts of the trip because we finally escaped the abundant tourism and got to see more of the real culture - how people really live and interact, etc. outside of the tourist hubs. It's a much more authentic picture of the country and people. Having said that, it's one thing to visit for four or five days. It's another ballgame to live there. You really have to be called to do that - seriously. I have a whole new appreciation and understanding of what Kelly and Sarah experience every day.

While in Pucallpa we got to experience transportation by mototaxis, a ride in a pekipeki (little wooden boat), a native village, swimming with piranhas and anacondas, local cuisine, the market, a visit to Kelly's church, and much more. We got a taste of the ups and downs of having to prepare all food from scratch (even making stuff like sour cream), having water faucets break and shoot across the room, doing laundry in humidity so great that nothing ever dries and the difficulties of fixing anything.

We're a little lacking on Pucallpa pictures. Here are a couple starters. There are more on the way - which I'll post soon.















Cooking in Pucallpa - starring Mom and Kelly















Cracking me up!
I can't quite figure out what Kelly's eating - any guesses? Perhaps a Kiwi???















"Swimming" with piranhas and anacondas
Yeah... the lake was pretty darn shallow