When we left the airport, we got an official taxi to the "Plaza de Boliva." We met a wonderful lady named Rosa. Rosa didnt speak any English, but we managed to communicate. Rosa's job was to sell corn for people to feed the 'doves' (pigeons).
We were in Colombia on a special day. They were swearing in their new "presidente guarda." It's their military. There were 500 men being sworn in. It was a nice ceremony.
Rosa introduced us to "Gringo." He is a Colombian who lived in Houston, Texas for a couple years, so he spoke English. He toured us around the downtown area, and gave us directions for our walk to Mount Monserrate.
We took a quick bathroom break. It cost 500 pesos, and you couldnt flush the toilet paper.
Then we were off on our walk to the Mount Monserrate cable car. We ended up lost and hiked up an enormous hill. We ended up at a school. Whoops! We finally found the right road.
We were given the choice of hiking up the mountain or taking the cable car. We laughed at the thought of hiking. The cable car was very steep!
At the top, we were definitely feeling the effects of the altitude plus little sleep. We were light headed, and short of breath. We spent about an hour up there. The view was beautiful, but we were tired.
When we came down, we found a taxi. We agreed on the price of 15.000 pesos. We even repeated the number a couple of times and had a colombian translated confirm the cost. When we arrived at the airport the driver demanded 32.000 pesos. We refused and got the police involved. After about 25 minutes, it was clear the police were not on our side. I tapped Chris's foot with mine to give him the heads up, ten I began to cry. All of a sudden everything was forgiven and we were free to go. I feel foolish that I had to resort to that, but I didnt know anything else to do.
We went back in to the airport to catch our flight. I became sick after take off. I filled 3 vomit bags, and made a trip to puke in the airplane bathroom. It wasn't fun. Chris slept peacefully though.
Once in Peru, we went through customs. Chris got the red light and had his bag searched. Father Chris picked us up from the airport with one of his parishioners, Joel. Joel drove us to the hotel while I puked some more. Peruvians drive crazy. I'm not sure there are traffic laws. Any lane can turn right!
After we checked in to the hotel we went to Joel's house for dinner. His wife, Zenida, cooked for us. They have 2 daughters. Paloma is 4, and Gracia was 8 months old. We had causa for an appetizer. It's a layer of spicy mashed potatoes, a layer of vegetables, then another layer of mashed potatoes. It wasn't delicious, but it wasn't bad. For our main dish, we had fish. The fish was topped with a sauce and onions. Chris really liked it. We also has rice. For dessert, we were served a fruit bread with mixed berry ice cream.
Joel and Zenida's house was very small. They were so nice and welcoming. Breast feeding is so accepted down here. At one point Zenida just whipped it out and began feeding the baby. There were no mumbled apologies, or even mention of it. Certainly different from america.
After dinner, I went back to the hotel room to sleep, and Chris headed off to the airport with Father Chris to pick up The Cleavelands. Their luggage was lost and took until about 2am before they arrived to the hotel. We hope their luggage is delivered tonight. It could be lost is Mexico City though.
Today we had bread for breakfast then headed off to Chorillos with a Rotary Club. We had extra volunteers today. Susana is a nutritionist. Mariota is a nurse. There was a dermatologist from Holland, and a dentist from Peru. Some of the rotary members served as translators for us. Today, Chris worked at the first station, writing down the children's name and age. I worked the last station, giving out different type of vitamins and explaining how and when to take them.
We went out for lunch as a group to a restaurant. The food was delicious and spicy. We had chicken, fries, and some vegetables. We also had 'morada chicha' to drink. It's a drink made from purple corn, pineapple juice, and apple peels. It was sweet, but a little thick.
We went to mass at Father Chris's church tonight. It was all in Spanish, so we didn't understand, but the singing was beautiful. Chris got goose bumps! The Peruvians participated in mass much more than Americans do.
After mass, there was a gathering for us. We had more causa and another potato dish. It was boiled potatoes and a spicy sauce. They garnish everything with olives and eggs.
After that we returned to the hotel. I had planned on added photos to this post, but my computer and the electricity are not getting along, even with a converter. So this was written on an iPod.
My father emailed me to let us know that my uncle's mother has passed away. I wish we could be there for them, but they are definitely in our thoughts and prayers.
Chris is sound asleep, and has been for an hour. BUM!
No comments:
Post a Comment