This day was one I will not soon forget. It began normally enough with the owner of the hostal giving us our wake-up call at 5:00 am. (Ok, maybe it wasn’t THAT normal.) :) Anyway, we had to catch our train back to Ollantaytambo at 5:45! We made it on the train in time and felt proud that we were able to get ready so early! The train ride was much better than the one to Aguas Calientes because it was actually light outside! As we rode through the beautiful grounds of Peru, we found ourselves entertaining an Irishman who was lucky enough to be seated right next to us! Ha. We told him just about all of the jokes that we knew and then began making some up. . . I won’t make you endure that here, but I think deep down Bernie had a good time. Haha.
*First of all, check out my sunburn. Secondly, it's 5:45 in the morning here!
So, we finally arrived in Ollantaytambo and to our surprise there were zero buses back to Cuzco. Let me explain something about Sunday. Sunday was census day in all of Peru. This translates to mean that all Peruvians were not allowed to leave their homes between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm so that they could all be counted. Antiquated? Insane? Yes, I think so, but that’s how it goes around here.
*Peruvians lined up to get counted for the census. Madness, I tell you.
Well, we were a bit stuck. . . UNTIL we noticed a taxi driver! We swarmed in on him and he said he would take us to (some place that I can’t remember the name of). He said once we got there, we could get a bus to Cuzco. This seemed like our best option, so we decided to go for it. The catch was that we invited our new Irish friend along with his two friends, Aidan and Ken, to join us! So, Liz, Junior and I piled in the middle seat of the station wagon with Aidan in the front and Ken and Bernie in the back. I think Ken and Bernie certainly must’ve enjoyed that bumpy ride the most. Haha. We were kind enough to alert them when bumps were approaching. Continuing on with our incessant chatter and joke telling, we headed to *insert name*. Once there, we noticed that there were no buses! Our taxi driver said that he wasn’t allowed to go to Cuzco but knew a guy who could. So, we waited in the taxi while he went in search of his mystery friend. He finally returned and said that he would be able to take us. So, we headed out on another hour long drive to Cuzco. Again, the scenery was fantastic and we even enjoyed the random pig and cow crossings! When we were almost to Cuzco, our taxi driver told us. . . “In case the cops or authorities pull us over, we’re all friends. My name is Ulyseus and we’re volunteers who work for a non-profit organization.” Well, that was actually true for Liz and I and we all agreed. Ha. I guess he didn’t have the permission that we though he did. . .
*Bernie and Ken in the backseat, Liz, Me and Junior in the middle. Aidan wouldn't let me take his picture. Party pooper. :(
Anyway, we arrived in Cuzco and he dropped us off in the square. The town was completely deserted except for some tourists and police officers. We went to the only open restaurant to get something to eat. After waiting for about 45 minutes and not even being able to order, we bid our Irish buddies farewell and caught a Tiko to the airport. We DID get pulled over, but this guy actually had his paperwork in order. We finally made it to the airport, got on our plane and thought we were home free.
*Fake llamas! We just couldn't get enough of these guys. . . :)
Once we arrived back in Lima, Jeff told us that we were actually going to pick up two more missionaries from the Extreme Team who were flying in an hour later. We picked up Graham and Amanda and then headed home on nearly deserted roads. It was so pleasant not to have to deal with Lima traffic until. . . As we were driving in the left hand lane, we noticed a car that was trying to make a left turn from the right lane. Jeff honked, breaked, but the man kept on going and BAM! The cars collided and we all got thrown around. Thank goodness we all had on our seatbelts! I was in the middle seat in the back and hit my head on the front passenger seat. I have a bruise on my forehead and a sore tummy from the seatbelt, but there were no major injuries. The police arrived and determined that the other driver didn’t have permission to be driving on the census day. As we waited on the side of the road, Graham mentioned going to jail, and I honestly got scared! What a mean boy he was being! Ha. Jeff told us to just get a taxi and head home while he dealt with the police. He had to go down to the police station and take a blood test to check for drugs or alcohol in his system. Meanwhile, Judy had prepared lunch for us, so we went over there and ate. I swear, the taxi ride back to Surco was the scariest that I’ve ever been on! We ate dinner and then went home to get some rest from our exhausting but incredibly memorable weekend!
*The Hughes's car. . . eek. I thought the Yaris took the crash a lot better than I did. :)
All I can do now is praise God for the awesome opportunity that He gave me to come to this country and enjoy all that He created. With His creation all around, the power and love of our Creator simply cannot be denied. I know that He created this world and these people and me for a reason. He put us all here, now for His purpose, for His glory. I am searching so hard these days for that path that He promised He’d walk with me on. I feel like I’m walking down a dark road and He’s the only light I see, the only light for my path. At times, I take my eyes off the light and get frightened about my future, about my life, just about everything. But then He is faithful and reminds me that I only need look at Him and He’ll keep me on that right path. All I can see is His light.
“By your words I can see where I'm going;
they throw a beam of light on my dark path.
I've committed myself and I'll never turn back
from living by your righteous order.”
Psalm 119:105-106
“Tu palabra es una lámpara a mis pies y una luz en mi camino. Hice un juramento, y lo voy a cumplir; ¡pondré en práctica tus justos decretos!”
Salmos 119:105-106
Katrina
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