Getting to Peru...

 

On the car ride to Ayacucho

We are finally in Ayacucho!  For the most part, the trip was uneventful - which we are very thankful for!  But it was loooong and tiring :)  

We drove to Charlotte in the afternoon of the 21st to catch our flight to Miami in the evening.  Luckily, we got there very early because we had to move some stuff around in our luggage!  We knew we would be paying extra for a second bag each, but we were overweight on most of them so we had to move some stuff around so that we paid less.  We still ended up paying a lot of overage, but it was worth it!  Traveling with so much luggage is NOT easy! lol.  We had to take two cars/Ubers everywhere! 

This was us ;) lol

Once we finally got to our gate, we found a "pet relief" area for Gemma.  They are prevalent now in the US so it was easy to find one!  The flight was short so we didn't sedate her - and she did wonderfully!  I was afraid she'd whine, but she was quiet as a mouse :) She stayed in an approved travel pet carrier at my feet.

hanging out in the Charlotte airport

ready for take off!

We decided that it would be easier for the pup, if we didn't have a layover, and instead got a hotel and spent a little time at the beach before boarding the plane to Lima.  It was a good idea, and we had fun...but had a small snafu.  We found a nice dog beach, and the idea was to swim and play a little, then shower/eat at the beach, so we could dry off before going back to the hotel.  Obviously we weren't able to pack and take towels.  It was a good plan, but mother nature didn't cooperate.  We got to play and have fun, but then the sky opened up and we had to eat under a shelter (which was pretty nice).  We showered off, but had nothing to dry with and got wetter still with the rain.  So, by the time we got back to the hotel to change, we were sandy and still wet lol.  There was a nearby CVS that had a beach section...but no towels.  The best we could do was a pack of washcloths lol.  Oh well!  It was an adventure and we made it through ;) 

the water felt like bathwater...amazing.  it must've been at least 90!

We wanted to play catch in the water but weren't able to bring any toys...so we improvised with a tiny coconut! lol

When we finally headed back to the airport, our check in was much faster and easier since we'd already paid for the luggage.  We decided to give Gemma a sedative for this flight since it was 6 hours.  She was great!  We arrived in Lima around 10pm and we were all pretty exhausted.  The flight was easy and comfortable...but emotions were high and we had already been living out of a suitcase for a week and around each other pretty much all the time.  So, when we landed, there were some strong emotions - good and bad.  We were thankful we were finally in Peru, but emotional that we were no longer in the US.  

Noe had contracted a tour guide he'd worked with on a previous trip to take us to Norma's house (one of Noe's sisters).  The guy has a 15 passenger van (a very nice one!) so all of our stuff was able to fit and we each could sit comfortably.  We felt spoiled...but there wasn't really another option as we all needed to stay together.  We forgot to take a pic of it, but I found a similar one on google images.  We used the same driver/van when we went to Ayacucho.

I don't like Lima - it's loud, smelly, there's a constant fog of pollution and mist that wreaks havoc on my allergies/asthma, and it's not safe.  But, we wanted to see his sisters and our nieces/nephew and we also wanted to buy a few things before heading to Ayacucho.  So, our plan was to spend two nights and one full day there.  So, on the 23rd, we woke up in Norma's house, went shopping for some items (I got a pressure cooker!  one thing I wanted to make sure I had in Ayacucho!) and then spent the evening with family <3  It was very nice!  The only downside was the climate.  The kids and I all have asthma/allergies, but we haven't had any asthma problems in probably 3 years.  Within 12 hours of being in Lima we all had to use a rescue inhaler.  Not fun.  Did I mention I don't like Lima? lol

But we were very happy to spend time with family.

the cousins!

Our family plus the families of two of noe's sisters. Missing are Anita and Onesimo and Noe's parents!  We hope to see them all in the next month.

The cousins played games :)  Paul played almost everyone in chess, and Ella played everyone in a game we brought called Rubix.  It's amazing how much can be said without speaking a lot of the other person's language :)  oh, they also played go fish - great second language game!

we were exhausted.  Paul actually took a 3 hour nap - Gemma joined him!

Our ride to Ayacucho started the next day at 7am.  We were in the van and ready to go right on time!  The GPS said that the driving time was 8 1/2 hours.  Ha!  That was no where near correct lol.  The ride out of Lima took at least an hour.  Once we got on their expressway though we made some good time.  The scenery wasn't much to look at along the coast.  The ocean was on the right but everything else was  brown.  We didn't see much green until we were around 3 hours outside of Lima.  once we finally turned east away from the coast, the scenery really changed and we got to see some beautiful mountains.  We stopped at a city around 11 to have an early lunch because there weren't going to be many opportunities to stop and eat after that.  The ride through the mountains was beautiful, but very, very windy, very, very slow and a little nerve-wracking.  looking out your window at a huge drop off isn't good for the stomach lol.  At one point we were stopped by the police for a check.  Evidently the driver forgot to fill out one word of the required document, so he had to basically bribe the policeman to pass.  I'm sure the policeman was just looking for any discrepancy to charge him with.  That's just how it is here.  

It was so nice to finally see green! lol

The mountains were brown until we got farther from the coast and closer to Ayacucho,

we saw a lot of vicunas and alpacas about 3-4 hours from ayaucho :) Many were wild. 

alpaca farm!

This strange rock (?) formation was in the middle of nowhere and we had to take a pic because we have no idea what it was!  any ideas?

Anyway, the 8 1/2 hour ride turned into 9...then 10...then 12!  By the time we finally arrived we couldn't wait to get out of the stinkin' car! lol.  We found our hotel, unloaded and crashed!  We are very thankful to have arrived safely!  Thank you for all the prayers!  After living with each other 24/7 and out of a suitcase for 2 weeks we are, understandably, getting tired of each other ;) lol  but, everyone's attitude has been very good and it's been an enjoyable trip!

En Cristo, 

Laurie and family

up next - searching for and finding a house/apartment!