My Machu......PI-CHU! (Bless you)

So I know that I've been back for a week and have yet to actually post anything from the trip, especially photos, so here you are....some fun pics from a beautiful country: a view of the scenic countryside

Dad and I in the mountains

One of the cathedrals in central Cuzco
The walls at Sacsayhuaman
The Fitzpatricks and myself at Ollataytambo

The classic view of Machu Pichu

Dad and I at Machu Pichu

(big thanks to Fitz for taking this one for me)

As I've said before, Peru is amazing. If you ever get the opportunity, take the chance and go! It's incredible!

Dios te bendiga!!

My Viktor Navorski......

Well, well, well, we meet again! This familiar feeling that I´ve had before.....not so long ago in fact!

To tell you the truth, over the last 24 hours I felt a lot like Viktor Navorski, the character played by Tom Hanks in the movie, The Terminal. I suppose I´m a bit better off though....I have money....and I had a hotel room....food.....but the feeling of being stuck....in the airport, that´s what I have.

The back story is quite funny really.

As Dad and I were attempting to get onto our flight to Caracas yesterday, we were told we had to have our Yellow Fever Vaccination cards out and ready to be checked before we could board the plan (or else we´d be stuck in the airport in Caracas). Well.....I forgot mine and was slightly expecting this might happen (Susan had mentioned it to me earlier in the trip), but I looked at dad and he said...."What? Yellow Fever? What´s that?"

uh-oh.

So we were pulled off the plane and told we had to stay in Lima. To be honest, this wasn´t a bad thing, as I would much, much rather be stuck here in Peru, as opposed to being stuck at the airport in Caracas.

Well, after an hour of confusion and attempts to book 5 of us on the same flight the next day, we were taken to the Health Center here at the hospital and we each had to pay $22 for the shot and the little card that comes with it (which is now a sweet souvenir). Then I went to see if I could get dad to the States without coming through Venezuela. He didn´t like his 36 hours there anyways and I figured it would be a heck of a lot easier to do this from here (where due to the high tourism, folks actually speak English), as opposed to Caracas. I had to run back and forth from the nice hotel they set us up in because I had to get some info from my gmail account (all of dad´s paperwork was in his bag....which was heading to Caracas).

Well....with the help of some prayers from a friend and I think maybe God himself stepped in to help us out....because the friendly folks at LAN were able to rerout dad through Houston on Continental Airlines and they even redid his connecting flight to Albuquerque for him. In all, he will end up being home 12 hours earlier than planned (although with no bag). To be honest....I was so happy that this was resolved that I almost wept. It was a stressful situation and I was worried that he would have to go to Caracas and then wait a day.....which neither one of us really wanted to do. It made everything soooo much easier.

For me....I´m on the same flight, just the next day. Then after explaining my poor Spanish abilities, I found the number for Aserca Airlines in Caracas and the folks at LAN called them for me, explained my situation and helped me rebook my flight for tonight at 9:30 pm. SCORE!!!

So now I sit here.....at the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru (btw...fun fact....apparently Jorge was the first to fly over the Andes, at least that´s what one of the LAN folks told me).

My friends Shaun & Susan (who remembered their Yellow Fever Cards) helped us out tremendously by grabbing our bags in Caracas and putting them with the LAN lost baggage folks in Caracas. Hopefully they haven´t been broken into over night and will be waiting for me today. I´m hoping to be able to send my dad´s bag to Albuquerque, but if not I´ll try to ship it from Anaco (my fingers are crossed).

I guess one of the lessons that I´ve learned and picked up through this is that patience gets you through a situation. I tried not to get upset with the LAN folks (they were just doing their jobs and it was my fault for not having the card). Thanks to that, I think they were more ready to help me out, just by keeping cool and keeping a smile on my face (or at least trying too).

Another lesson is how...even through the most stressful situations....God provides. He gets you through it and takes care of you...even when you can´t see what´s coming around the bend in the road.

This whole thing worked out soooo much better than I could have imagined. Dad is in the States, I got to spend another day in Peru (at a sweet hotel mind you) and I get to just sit and relax for a few more hours, before hitting the hustle and stress of Venezuela.

On a side note.....I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter and if you read this today or celebrate today....just remember that this day isn´t about little white rabbits dropping eggs for everyone. Although I suppose it is about one Man, giving everyone the greatest gift we could ever ask for.

-Dios te bendiga

My Ollantaytambo.....

Well, well, I didn´t think it would happen....then bam! I found a decent Internet connection in the lovely little village of Ollantaytambo, Peru. It´s the site of an Inka temple, which is pretty stinkin´cool and I´ll try to post some pics when I get back to VZ....assuming my Internet is working. Odd side note....Shaun and I were talking yesterday and isn´t it weird that they can get a better Internet connection in the middle of no where, Peru (in the Andes Mountains of all places) and yet in Anaco, we´ve got nothing. Weird.

Well, we´ve been in Peru for three days now and I must say...I´m loving it! The people are friendly, the food is great (choices....actual choices!!!) and the views are simply stunning. We went rafting today and it was amazing to just look up for a minute and really take in what was surrounding us. Then on our 2 hour taxi ride back to Ollantaytambo, I was napping and I just suddenly woke up to this amazing view of the mountains. The sun was hitting it just right to alight the base and then the top was covered in dark clouds....it was such an amazing contrast and words don´t really do it justice. Neither would a picture, if I took one. I just looked up, thanked God for the view and stared at it until we were off the mountain. Simply stunning.

Things have gone great so far and we´re really having a lot of fun. We saw some pretty cool ruins the first two days, although one of our tour guides was terrible. He spent three hours telling us about how the walls were made/shaped/formed. I mean, after a short explanation, I´m good, but to continually talk about it.....and talk about it....and talk about it. AHHHH!!!! It reminded me of when I worked at the Wildlife Camps one summer and I would take kids on a walk through the woods, attempting to point out mushrooms and insects along the way.....they would ask me a question about something and I would reply.....um.....well I can tell you about this thing here instead, although it has nothing to do with your original question. The wall was his fallback.

Tomorrow though is the big day...Machu Pichu. God willing, we´ll be taking a train up to Aqua Caliente (yes...the town is named "Hot Water", only because there are hot springs nearby) and then we´ll head to Machu Pichu. I´m pretty psyched, as this is one of the places on my list of things to see (maybe I´ll share the list on a later post).

To be honest, this trip has been such a blessing. I haven´t seen my dad since August, so it´s a blast reconnecting with him....even though his Spanish is terrible!!! It´s also been fun to see all these amazing landscapes the God created here. It´s simply stunning to see these high plateaus amongst the stunning mountain back-drops. Hopefully some of the pics I bring back can do it even a bit of justice.

Well....the cafe is closing and the dude behind the counter is staring at me.....so I better run. I´ll see if I can find a café again before we head back to VZ on Saturday.

Dios te benidga!!!

My Whoa! Moment.....

I only have a whopping 5 minutes of time left at this Internet cafe, so this one will be quick. Sorry for the delay in posting, our Internet at school has been sporadic at best and that mixed with our water problems is making the 2nd semester an interesting one.

The soccer tourney went well. We took 2nd out of 7 teams. My elementary kids were excited and now I´m focusing with the high school kids.

My Dad is here!!! We´re in Caracas today and tomorrow we meet up with some friends of mine and head for Peru. We´ll be back in Venezuela next Saturday.

Okay, times running out......I hope things are going well wherever you are!!!

Dios te bendiga!