Trip Overview
Wow... Where to begin?
We were so blessed this summer to be able to take an exotic vacation to Peru in South America. It was Michael's first trip outside North America and my first trip to South America.
My sister, Kelly, is currently living in Peru and teaching secondary math and science to missionary kids in the jungle city of Pucallpa. Kelly's roomate, Sarah Deaton (also a teacher), and her family also accompanied us on the trip. It was so fun to have "native" tour guides and such great travel buddies!
While in Peru, we experienced such variety. Every day was completely and totally different. We got to see a good portion of the country. We started in Lima, which is the capital city (see middle of the country on the coast on the map below). We then traveled to Cuzco (southeast in the mountains) and saw many ruins, including the famed Machu Picchu. Our final destination was Pucallpa (directly left of the "Amazon Jungle" on the map), the jungle city where Kelly lives.
Map of Peru
Day 1 - Thursday, June 29
Travel to Lima, Peru
We left Jackson around noon on June 29. We flew to Houston, Texas where we met Mom Brashares (Jennifer's mom), who was arriving from Oklahoma City. We grabbed a super yummy lunch at the airport Pappadeux's (local cajun seafood joint) and boarded our flight to Lima, Peru about 4pm that afternoon. When they served the plane dinner, we were very thankful we had eaten in Houston. The plane lasagna was barely edible!
We arrived in Lima about 11pm on Thursday night. We cleared customs and immigration and had a joyful reunion with my sister, who we hadn't seen in a whole year. By the time we made it to Hotel Santa Cruz and settled in, it was well after midnight. Quite a long day of travel!
Lima by Night
From the Deatons swanky hotel :)
Day 2 - Friday, June 30
The City & Coast - Lima, Peru
On Friday, we explored the city of Lima - a big city of around 9 million people. It was definitely busy and the traffic was crazy. Normal driving laws are completely optional there (reminds me of Mississippi). Things like stop signs and stop lights worked sometimes - but it was definitely a gamble.
Because Peru is so close to the equator, it's climate is pretty constant. Lima stays at a fairly constant temperature of somewhere between 65 and 75 degrees, even though Peru (being south of the equator) was in the dead of winter. It is almost always grey and cloudy but it rarely rains.
Our driver, Frank, took us all over the city - to the beachfront, several plazas, the catacombs, Union Street, the Inka Market and the upscale Miraflores district. Michael was fascinated with the architecture of the city - which was quite modern. The catacombs were quite an experience - let's just say that they pride themselves on the "aesthetically arranged bones." There were almost a hundred thousands of people buried in those catacombs. The bones were exhumed, chronicled and now it's a tourist attraction. Quite the experience!
Brashares Family in Lima Plaza
From Left: Mom B, Jennifer, Michael, Kelly
Mom Deaton & Emily (Sarah's Mom and sister) in front of the Presidential Palace
Cathedral above the catacombs
Interestingly enough, the catacombs were built partially to help add earthquake stability to the foundation for the cathedral. The underground structure helps absord the shock from earthquakes and protects the cathedral above.
Kelly, Michael & Mom B Coming Out of the Catacombs
Caption for Mom B: "Oh my gosh... I just saw bones!"
We ate lunch at a Peruvian restaurant on Union Street and Michael watched World Cup games as often as find a TV.
Friday evening, we explored the grocery store in Lima - which actually topped most of our grocery stores in Jackson (only Lima's stores did though... the markets in other cities definitely left something to be desired). Afterwards, we ate dinner at Chili's (they have lots of American restaurants in Lima - Chili's, TGI Fridays, Kentucky Fried Chicken, etc.). They had the REAL Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie! In Lima, they still serve the dessert in the skillet - which is what makes it so good. In the states, they stopped serving it in the skillet a few years back - and I stopped ordering it in protest. We enjoyed the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie so much that we actually went back to Chili's at the end of our trip to get another. :)
Day 3 - Saturday, July 1
Travel to Cuzco, Peru
On Saturday morning, we got up early and headed to the Lima airport for our flight to Cuzco.
Early Morning in the Lima Airport
From Left: Kelly, Emily, Sarah, Mom Deaton, Jennifer
In Back: Michael
We flew StarPeru. I was super impressed. We were seated on the exit row - and they actually left out the entire row of seats that should have been in front of us to give extra room. On U.S. airlines they give you a little extra room - but StarPeru had some extra perks. We could fully extend our legs and not come near the row in front of us.
Michael stretching out...
It's all about the legs
Kelly and Emily on StarPeru
Once we arrived in Cuzco, we checked in to Hotel Tambo and spent the day adjusting to the altitude. We traveled from sea level (Lima) to slightly over 11,000 ft. in about an hour. The locals have hundreds of supposed remedies for the altitude, including the coca tea (think for a minute about this one) that they serve to every person as they arrive to their respective hotels in Cuzco.
Deatons room at Hotel Tambo in Cuzco
Quite the step down from the plush Doubletree in Lima
Saturday evening we ate dinner at a cute little Italian bistro called Trattoria Adriano - and returned to the hotel to rest up for our busy days ahead.
Day 4 - Sunday, July 2
Mountains & Ruins - Cuzco, Peru Surrounding Areas
On Sunday, we were treated to a bus tour of the mountain areas surrounding Cuzco. We started the tour mid-morning and headed higher into the mountains - crossing a pass of over 14,000 feet within the first 30 minutes. The Andes in Peru were interesting in that there was almost no snow, even in the dead of winter. There was no snow on the 14,000 foot pass. In fact, it was probably 60 degrees on that pass. There are glaciers and snow on some of the higher peaks - but the mountains usually have to be around 20,000 ft. before you start seeing white tops. That's quite a contrast to the mountain ranges in North America.
We stopped for several photo ops at the beginning of the tour. We saw a fertile valley and the Urubamba River.
Group Picture in Fertile Valley
From Left: Sarah, Emily, Jennifer, Barbara (Mom D), Maribeth (Mom B), Kelly, Michael aka Mr. Secret Service
Scenery in Fertile Valley
Kelly & Jennifer above Urubamba River Valley
Urubamba River
Tour Bus Junkies
From Left: Kelly, Sarah, Emily, Mom D, Mom B
After our photo ops, we proceeded to the village of Pisac to an indian craft market. We stopped for about an hour to browse and shop. Michael and I found some artwork that we really liked but we ran out of time to finish negotiating. Darn!
We stopped for lunch in a little village, at a restaurant called Alhambre. It had all kinds of local Peruvian food. We ate in these little thatch roof huts. The scenery was beautiful and they even had a pen of llamas and alpacas to feed.
Alhambre Restaurant
Lunch in a thatch roof hut
Parrot at Alhambre
The parrot said "Hola!" instead of Hello
Happy Alpacas
Kelly feeding an alpaca
Following lunch, we visited the Inca ruins in a city called Ollantaytambo. It’s amazing what the early civilizations were able to do in terms of craftsmanship, agriculture and engineering – with not many resources at their disposal. They understood so much about construction (even making their structures earthquake proof) and sustainability. We had a great tour guide for our Sunday tours. She spoke English well and shared a ton of the history behind the ruins.
City of Ollantaytambo
Main Ruins at Ollantaytambo
From Left: Jennifer, Kelly, Mom B, Michael
Listening to our guide explain many intriguing things about the ruins
A "Temple" at Ollantaytambo
Look how big the slabs of rock are. This temple is probably 100 yards up the mountain. They are also cut to perfectly fit together - long before powertools were available.
Kelly & Jennifer at Ollantaytambo ruins
Amazing architectural feat - water ponds
The Incas actually routed the spring through their community - so they didn't have to go down to a stream to get water. The water came to them instead.
Picture at the fountains
From Left: Michael, Kelly, Mom D, Emily, Sarah
We left Ollantaytambo and traveled toward a little village called Chinchero. On the way, we passed a 20,000+ ft peak, which presented the perfect opportunity for a photo op.
Beautiful Peruvian scenery
In Chinchero, we saw a weaving demonstration where they explained how the native Indians make tapestries and textiles. Then we visited a church that was built during the Spanish Inquisition over the top of a sacred Inca site. We got to witness a beautiful sunset as we left Chinchero and headed back to Cuzco.
Church at Chinchero
Kelly in Chinchero market
Chinchero Streets
Sunset over Chinchero home
Back in Cuzco, we headed to dinner at a place called the Blueberry Lounge. We tried alpaca for dinner and it was, sort of surprisingly, very good!
Day 5 - Monday, July 3
Mountains & Ruins - Cuzco City Tour
On Monday, we greatly enjoyed one of our few opportunities to sleep in! We spent the morning relaxing and enjoyed a memorable lunch in the gardens at the hotel. The hotel employees were so accommodating. Originally we had planned to head down to the main square in Cuzco to eat – but when they found out our plans they offered to set a table in the gardens. It was so nice! Warm, beautiful and free of hecklers. :)
Lunch in Hotel Tambo Gardens
In the early afternoon, we departed for our guided tour of the city of Cuzco. Cuzco was the capital city of the Inca empire. We started in the main square – the Plaza de Armas – in Cuzco, touring the cathedral there. The cathedral was followed by a tour of the “Temple of the Sun,” a sacred Inca site that the Spanish built over during their rule. They later uncovered remains of the temple.
Cuzco Main Square (Plaza de Armas) & Cathedral
The cathedral pictured is the one we toured.
Cuzco's Temple of the Sun
More Temple of the Sun
From the Temple of the Sun, we headed into the outskirts of Cuzco to see more ruins. We saw three sets of ruins on Monday. First we visited Saqsaywaman (sounds like “Sexy Woman”), an Inca fortress. We also visited Q’engo, which had a cave where they used to do sacrifices – and yeah… not just of animals. Finally, we visited the sacred waters of Tambomachay. Drinking the water is rumored to enhance fertility, among other good things. Essentially a fountain of youth idea. And no – we didn’t drink the water, although plenty of other revelers were lapping it up.
Running in circles trying to stay warm at Sacsaywaman
From Left: Jennifer, Kelly, Mom B., Emily, Sarah
It was quite cold this afternoon - and no one was dressed for the weather (except for Michael who is never cold).
Sarah & Kelly at Sacsaywaman
Group Picture at Sacsaywaman
Mom B & Kelly Staying Warm Outside of Q'engo Cave
Sarah & Kelly are hot stuff!
Espcially Sarah's llama hat and the scarf face :)
Sunset over Tambomachay
Jennifer and the sacred waters of Tambomachay
We finished the day with dinner at a Mexican restaurant off of the square in Cuzco. The food was interesting… I thought it was hard to mess up enchiladas. Guess we were wrong on that count! After that dinner, I don’t think any of us would recommend eating Mexican in Peru. On a better note, we sampled the native Peruvian drink during dinner – a Pisco Sour (for free as an incentive to come to the restaurant). It was interesting and pretty good. Its taste was similar to a margarita. Pisco sours and alpaca… Living on the edge!
Day 6 - Tuesday, July 4
Great World Wonder - Machu Picchu
Tuesday morning we got up before the crack of day to catch our train to Machu Picchu. The train left the station at 6am. We enjoyed a beautiful ride through the sunrise in Cuzco and then through a gorge following the river.
Up Before Sunrise, but somehow with smiles on faces
Group shot on train in Cuzco station
Sunrise over Cuzco from train
Nearing Machu Picchu - Scenery from Train
About 10am, we arrived at Machu Picchu, an Inca community of that consisted of about 400 people in its prime. We went on an introductory tour of the ruins and saw things like the guard house, several temples, a “choir room” with cool acoustics, typical homes, quarries, gardens and terraces.
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu and Wayna Picchu from the gardens
Farming Terrraces
This picture gives you an idea of how shear the side of the mountain was.
Kelly and Sarah taking a break at Machu Picchu
We left Machu Picchu around 2pm and had a late lunch at a place in Aguas Calientes, the nearest town below Machu Picchu in the gorge. After lunch we checked in to our hotel, Hostel Machu Picchu, and spent the evening exploring Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes has some hot springs – but our scouts, Kelly and Sarah, decided that the “healing” green waters probably weren’t worth it. We ate dinner at a local chain, Chez Maggie and then bought our tickets to return to Machu Picchu on Wednesday.
Yumm... a Peruvian lunch
Going clockwise from left: Kelly, Sarah, Mom D, Jennifer, Michael, Emily
Michael & Jen streamside in Aguas Calientes
Group Shot along Aguas Calientes stream
Explanation required here... During our Machu Picchu tour on Wednesday morning, there was a quite flamboyant woman who was part of our group. At one point, the tour guide - in the middle of his presentation - pointed out a good spot for taking pictures. This lady marched right over to the spot, took her hair out of her ponytail in a Pantene-esque move and started posing quite provocatively in front of the whole group - and while the pour tour guide was trying to give his presentation nonetheless. So this picture is a tribute to the lady from the tour group. :)
Kelly & Sarah the dancers
Note: The yellow building in the background is where we had lunch. A tour bus is entering the picture on the right hand side. We rode these tour buses to Machu Picchu. Michael was also amazed with the construction in Peru (note the tarps, etc. on the building in front of the bus). There are no safety guards - barricades, protective walls, etc. Quite different from the "Safety First" campaigns of most U.S. companies.
PM Rock Climbing Fun in Aguas Calientes
Cute kiddos in Aguas Calientes
Day 7 - Wednesday, July 5
Hiking Day - Wayna Picchu
On Wednesday, we woke up early and got to Machu Picchu about 8am to hike the peak that you always see in pictures of the ruins (for example, see pictures above). The peak is called Wayna Picchu (translates to “Little Mountain”). The hike is probably a 3 or 4 mile round trip and involves about 1,000 ft elevation gain to the top. The peak is pretty shear (don’t step off the trail) but the trails are well groomed. Essentially it is stairs or steps all the way to the top. They even had cables along much of the trail for extra support. The top of the peak is basically a bolder field that was a couple dozen yards wide and long. You could scramble across the massive bolders but there was a fairly substantial drop off of the side of any given bolder.
My mom has a substantial fear of heights so we were incredibly impressed that she elected to join us for the hike. And she did great! She made it to the top with no problems – and she even navigated the harder part, the descent, with not a complaint!
Starting out... Trying to find the trailhead
Moms Hiking Up Wayna Pichhu
Note: A the beginning of the trail, there was a little section that went down before the major climbing began. The Moms really are headed up... in just a minute.
Jen & Michael Taking a Break
Looking Back on Machu Picchu from the trail
Kelly, Michael & Jen nearing the top
We had just passed through a small cave - where you had to take off backpacks and crawl through a section. We were waiting on the rest of the group to come through the cave.
Group Resting Post-Cave
Check out the steps heading up to the left. It's definitely getting steeper.
Group Shot at the top of Wayna Picchu
Michael balanced on a boulder on top of Wayna Picchu
Michael hugging a rock
Kelly on a Terrace with the bus trails to Machu Picchu
As we started our descent, we stopped and took a snack break on this ancient farming terrace. In the background, you can see the dirt roads that the tour buses use to transport visitors to mMachu Picchu. It's definitely a wild ride. The roads are only wide enough for one vehicle at a time. Yet there are constantly buses going both up and down. We saw several near crashes from this vista - especially on the hairpin turns.
Another Group shot in front of Machu Picchu
Beginning our descent
This section was really quite steep. If you look in the top left hand corner of the picture, you get an idea of what would happen if someone stepped over the edge. Yikes!
Back at the trailhead
From Left: Michael, Jennifer, Mom D, Mom B, Sarah, Emily, Kelly
At the conclusion of our hike, we had fun taking victory shots.
We did it!
From Left: Mom D, Mom B, Jennifer, Kelly, Sarah, Emily
Conquerors!
From Left: Jennifer, Kelly, Sarah, Mom D, Mom B, Emily
Girl Power!
From Left: Kelly, Jennifer, Sarah, Mom D, Mom B, Emily
We got dirty... sliding down the mountain
We returned to Aguas Calientes and ate lunch at Chez Maggie (same place we had dinner the nice before). We caught our train back to Cuzco about 3pm. Michael did not want to leave the station – as he was engrossed in the France v. Portugal World Cup game. We finally tore him away from the TV in the station manager’s office and managed to get him on the train.
Unfortunately, several of our group started feeling sick on the train ride home. Poor Sarah was miserable. So once we returned to Cuzco, we skipped dinner and went to bed.
Day 8 - Thursday, July 6
Travel to Pucallpa, Peru
Thursday was another early morning. We left the hotel at 5:45am to catch our 7:40 flight to Lima. We had a layover of a couple hours in Lima, so Kelly, Michael and I got to experience combi life as we darted to the SAM Mission’s guesthouse to pick up a couple things to transport back to Pucallpa with us. Combis are a primary means of transportation in Lima. They are mini-buses essentially (that are really about the size of a mini van). They try to cram as many people as possible into a single combi. At times, you see combis with as many as 30 or more people inside.
We had an early afternoon flight in to Pucallpa. One of the missionaries that Kelly works with us picked us up in the infamous SAM Academy blue truck (late 70s model F-150). In a world of mototaxis (primary mode of transport in Pucallpa), the blue truck definitely stands out - especially when you put a bunch of Americans in it.
Pucallpa Airport
Star Peru plane in Pucallpa
Arriving in the Pucallpa Airport
From Left: Michael, Kelly, Sarah, Emily, Mom D
The blue truck
Pucallpa is definitely much less touristy than the other areas we visited on our trip. For me, it was fun because it was a more authentic experience. Everywhere we went though, we got stares – and whistles – and a bit of heckling (although it was not nearly as bad as in the tourist areas).
We spent the afternoon resting, relaxing and unpacking at our new abode in Pucallpa – the SAM Mission. Kelly showed us her Pucallpa home and we did some much needed laundry. Michael played a game of soccer with some Peruvians who were using the SAM soccer fields. He got smoked and severely sprained his ankle. :( We cooked a small dinner in the apartment, as many people were still not feeling well and turned in early (as early mornings will do that to you).
Driveway into the SAM property (where Kelly lives)
To the right of the driveway are the soccer fields. On the left side is a volleyball court and the basketball court - which is currently being covered and will serve as the new church when complete. The church has outgrown its current meeting spot in the dining hall. On the very left hand side of the picture you can see a corner of the playground for the kids at the school.
The SAM Buildings
If you turn 180 degrees from the picture of the SAM driveway, this is what you will see. The building on the far left is Sarah & Kelly's apartment. The school is the building across the back of the property. The building in the foeground (you mainly see the awning) is the cafeteria/multi-purpose room for the school.
Kelly & Sarah's apartment building
They live in a converted section of an old dormitory building.
Hallway - Looks like a dorm alright...
Kelly and Sarah's apartment is a section equivalent to about 4 or 5 rooms, which has been converted into a living area for the SAM teachers. We stayed in some of the empty rooms - old dorm rooms. Mom D and Emily's room is featured below.
Deatons room in Pucallpa
Apartment Tour
Kelly's room
Kelly in the "cool" room
The only air conditioned room in the apartment. Brutal when the temperature averages 90 degrees year round.
Day 9 - Friday, July 7
Jungle Adventures - Pucallpa Market & Lake Cashibo
On Friday, we got the full Pucallpa shopping experience. We left Kelly & Sarah’s apartment mid morning and took mototaxis down to the Pucallpa market.
Mototaxis to the Market
Kelly, Jen & Goodie in center mototaxi
Empty Mototaxi
Pucallpa Traffic
3 hours and much exhaustion later we returned home with all the groceries. Shopping in Pucallpa is much different than back home – or even in Lima or Cuzco for that matter. There is not a grocery store in Pucallpa – at least not a grocery store in the sense that we think of a grocery store in. The grocer store in Pucallpa carries only non perishable items – e.g. flour, sugar, crackers, bread, cleaning supplies. Any produce, meat, dairy, etc. requires a trip to the market. The market is somewhat similar to a farmers market – however, complete with cramped quarters, unrefrigerated meat (smell! especially given the heat) and serious bugs (like the cockroaches I saw climbing all over the produce in one store).
We started our shopping by stopping at the poultry shop (this store actually has refrigerated meat – a novelty) and ordering boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Even after a year of living there, the Peruvians still think Kelly & Sarah are very weird for ordering only part of the chicken (and they actually still give them the leftover chicken bones along with their boneless, skinless breasts). After the poultry shop, we made a stop by the market and got all the vegetables we needed – onions, avocadoes, tomatoes, cabbage (closest thing to lettuce they can get), cucumbers, etc. Then we had to go to a separate place for fruit (oranges, kiwis, bananas, etc.), a separate place for butter, a separate place for ice cream, you get the idea…
After three hours in the heat, we returned to Kelly’s apartment quite exhausted. We worked on unpacking groceries and washing all the fruits and vegetables in bleach water.
Kelly's kitchen... Mom & Kelly washing vegetables
We had a lunch of leftovers and then piled in the blue truck to head to a nearby lake, where several of the SAM missionary families live. It took about an hour to travel out to Lake Cashibo (which is only about 10 miles away). The roads were just that bad. The roads were actually better where they weren’t paved.
We got to meet a very cool family out at Lake Cashibo and we tried to swim in the lake which is a rumored host to such cool things as piranhas and anacondas. Unfortunately the lake was really low since it’s the middle of dry season in Pucallpa right now. They say that the lake is so low right now that you can almost walk all the way across it. It is normally 20-30 feet deep. So we sat out on the float for a while and watched the sunset. We then took a quick tour of the SAM Air Ministry (SAM Air recruits pilots to serve in the mission field. The pilots fly missionaries to unreachable areas to share the gospel with people groups that would otherwise never hear).
Following our dip in the lake, we headed back to Kelly’s apartment, changed clothes, and went to dinner at a local restaurant, Rosales. Most of our group ate a local fish, Doncella, from the Ucayali River that runs through Pucallpa. It was excellent!
"Swimming" at Lake Cashibo
More "Swimming" at Lake Cashibo
Beautiful Sunset at Lake Cashibo
Day 10 - Saturday, July 8
Jungle Adventures continue - San Francisco
Saturday morning we headed down to a lake off of the Ucayali river for a trip to a native community called San Francisco. We got to ride in little boats called pekipekis. The pekipeki was called “The Best.” Cracked me up…
A Pekipeki called "The Best"
Pekipeki Adventures
It took us about an hour to get to San Francisco by boat. Along the way we saw several other communities and dolphins in the lake. San Francisco is a relatively small community of about 1500 people that is almost completely isolated from the larger city of Pucallpa. Once we arrived in San Francisco, we spent about an hour touring the city, shopping in the market, and seeing how they crafted their pottery and jewelry.
We then took a trek through the jungle, out to see some “nice pools” according to our tour guide. Some village children joined us for what was supposed to be about a 20-30 minute hike out. We had to cross a very interesting “log” bridge. Our tour guide was oh-so-kind and told us there were aggressive alligators in the pool below. Our destination of “pretty pools” was certainly not what we expected. They were fishing breeding ponds and looked like Louisiana swamps. But hey – we got to take a fun hike through the jungle. On the way back, we found some native flowers that look like bird beaks. Our tour guide made us put them on our noses and take a picture. Tourist moment, for sure!
Stick "Bridge" over the alligator pond
Sarah, Michael & local kids
"Nice Pools" errr... Lousiana Swamp
Sarah Eating Some Plantains Along the Trail
The beak shot
Click on the picture to view a close up. You can see a set of the flowers in Sarah's hand (in the middle). We all took a flower and put it on our noses. The flowers look similar to a bird's beak. This is definitely a tourist picture!
Walking the Streets of San Francisco with our newfound friends
Michael loved how all the villages, no matter how poor, always had a soccer field.
We returned to Pucallpa via pekipeki. We ate a very late lunch at Orlando’s, fine dining a la Pucallpa. Orlando’s is run by a family that attends Kelly’s church in Pucallpa. It was an excellent steakhouse.
We spent the remainder of the evening resting and relaxing. Michael made a cheesecake using Kelly & Sarah’s oven, which has no marked temperatures on the control knob. It was quite an experience! Michael was also the resident handyman and helped to hang the curtains in Kelly & Sarah’s living room. The rest of us were spectators aka bums. :)
Day 11 - Sunday, July 9
Church & Play - Pucallpa, Peru
Sunday morning we attended church at the SAM base. There was a summer team in town, so a guy from the team delivered the sermon and it was actually in English (translated into Spanish by the regular pastor) which was a disappointment for some of us, but a convenience for others. We enjoyed a lunch of fajitas – everything had to be made from scratch. Tortillas, salsa, guacamole, even sour cream. It took us almost 3 hours to prepare lunch – but it sure was good when we got to eat it. We had a super yummy cheesecake dessert thanks to Michael's valiant and very sweaty (we learned that cooking over a hot stove in 90 degree weather isn't exactly fun - intuitive but you don't really appreciate it fully until you've done it) efforts on Saturday.
While we watched lunch, Michael visited with some of the neighbors and caught the tail end of the World Cup final. After lunch, a bunch of people from Kelly’s church came to the SAM base to play sports – soccer and volleyball. Poor Michael had looked forward to playing soccer with the church guys for months – but he had to sit out given his faulty ankle. He finished hanging the curtains in the apartment instead. Kelly and I made fools of ourselves trying to play volleyball with the Peruvians who were shorter but much more skilled than us.
Jennifer playing volleyball with the Peruvians
Just look for the blinding white skin. She's very easy to pick out. :) It was actually very entertaining to be in Peru with pale skin. They all want to protect you from the sun. Where as in the U.S. everyone wants to be tan, they envied pale skin in Peru. Woohoo! Sarah and Kelly say that the Peruvians freak out when either one of them gets sunburned. It's quite a difference from home.
Kelly playing volleyball
The look on Kelly's face is classic. "Uughh... Why do I have to play this game? The Peruvians are like gringa... get with it! We can't help it that we stink." :)
Mom B being a spectator
Michael nursing a hurt ankle
Check out the beautifully hung curtain rods in the background. Kelly and Sarah won't have to worry now about their curtains falling down every time a breeze blows through. You can also see the nice wood factory in the background. The SAM Mission base has wood factories on both sides of it. They pump out tons of nice black smoke that floats right over and fills the apartment. Almost everyone left Pucallpa sick as a result. It's the grace of God that Kelly & Sarah stay healthy (especially Kelly since she has a history of horrible allergies).
Sunday evening, we took mototaxis across town and attended the evening service at Kelly’s church. It was so fun to experience worship and teaching Peruvian style and to meet some of Kelly’s church family. Boy was it hot though! We practically melted in church that night – even though it was after 7 pm and dark outside. Hot jungle nights!
Kelly and Sarah cracked me up with their classification of jungle hot. They classify heat by the number of showers you need to take in a given day. There are one shower days (rare), two shower days (most require at least two), three shower days and even four shower days. Most of our days in Pucallpa were two shower days. Sunday might have been a three shower day though.
Day 12 - Monday, July 10
Goodbye to Pucallpa, Travel to Lima
Sunrise over Kelly & Sarah's apartment
Monday morning we took our time getting up, ready and packed. We wrapped up some loose ends and then headed into Pucallpa to a restaurant called Gulf for lunch. We were so sad to find out that Gulf was closed so we went to another café instead. We had to say goodbye to Sarah and her family – complete with tears, lots of hugs and plans for a reunion in a year.
Brashares Family in a mototaxi
Yes, all four of us are in there. From Left: Driver, Kelly, Jennifer, Mom, Michael
We then flew from Pucallpa to Lima. We had a layover of about 7 hours in Lima so we grabbed a taxi to the SAM guesthouse in Lima. We dropped off our stuff there and went to play in Lima for a few hours. We went back to the Inca Market in Lima and did some shopping and then to Chili’s (reprive) for dinner. Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie – yummm…
About 9pm, we headed back to the Lima airport. We checked in for our flight (thank goodness for elite status on Continental or it would have taken us at least 2 hours just to check in). Then we had to say goodbye to my sister. That was the most heartbreaking moment of the entire trip. We finally managed to pull ourselves away and then had to spend about an hour in the food court recovering before we headed to our gate.
We finally made our way down to the gate and settled in to wait for our 11:59pm red-eye flight. For those used to going to bed by 10pm or 11pm at the latest, the wait was almost torturous. Unfortunately our flight was further delayed and we didn’t leave the Lima airport until almost 1am. Initially, with all flights on schedule, Michael and I had less than 45 minutes to clear customs and immigration and make it to our connecting flight to Jackson on Tuesday morning. So we knew Tuesday would be quite an experience.
Waiting at the gate for our flight
The sleeping mask says "Shhh!... I'm Sleeping!" It was Michael's gift to me on his latest business trip. It sure works well too. If only we had had earplugs that worked that well (explanation below).
Demorado... or Delayed
In addition to the nice flight delay, we were seated right behind a baby that decided to cry almost every 30 minutes for the entire flight. We were in elite seating right behind first class. Normally they don’t seat babies there (so as not to upset their high paying customers in first class should the baby get fussy). So babies normally end up at the back of the plane. Ugh. Needless to say, it was a long night with not much sleep.
Day 13 - Tuesday, July 11
Back to the U.S.
We arrived to Houston on Tuesday morning at 7:35am, very glad to be free from the plane. Our original flight to Memphis (in route to Jackson) was scheduled to leave at 7:40am. We still had to clear immigration, customs and trek halfway across the airport to another terminal to catch our flight. It wasn’t going to happen.
Fortunately, we cleared immigration and customs without much hassle. We checked in with the ticketing counter after customs and they had already rebooked us on a direct flight to Jackson that got in only a few minutes after our original flight. After that, we made it home without a hassle – we even had time to see my mom off on her flight back to Oklahoma City and to change our Peruvian soles back to dollars.
We arrived in to Jackson about noon and thankfully had the afternoon and evening to unpack, do laundry and rest before returning to work on Tuesday. Michael went to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon to get his foot x-rayed, as it was still very swollen and discolored. Fortunately it was only a bad sprain as we expected.
While driving Michael to and from the doctor (less than a five minute drive), I almost fell asleep twice at the wheel (not so good). When we got back to the house, we decided we should take a short nap to help get us through the evening. So at about 3pm we laid down for a few minutes, only to wake up on Wednesday morning. We slept for something like 15 or 16 hours straight – a great, rested end to our wonderful Peruvian vacation!
A special thanks to Kelly and Sarah, our wonderful tour guides and great hosts. We love you guys and are so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend time with you this summer! Blessings to you both! We can’t wait for our stateside reunion in summer 2007!
