It was a
miracle from the Lord to be able to sleep in past 6:30 this morning – for the
first time all week it felt like I wasn’t waking up for a school day J. Not only were we able to sleep in
but when I flicked on the TV I was joyfully greeted by the French Open (I had
been very sport deprived and love watching all of the tennis majors)! The hotel
rooms were pretty impressive and we were also greeted by a wonderful breakfast
buffet on a beautiful third floor terrace. The spread was great and having Wi-Fi
while eating breakfast was something I never thought I’d see again.
After our
wonderful daily devotion delivered by the great Reverend Eric Bartel, we set
off on foot through the hectic streets of well-advertised Lima. After a quaint
yet noisy and hustled hike, we made it to Pardos Chicken where we had lunch. It
is Billy’s favorite chicken chain and they did have some pretty good rotisserie
chicken. After that we had free roam around the mall! We had an hour and a half
and I was convinced that Starbucks would make my slightly upset stomach feel
better! Much to Danny and Joshua’s surprise, the Starbucks did a miracle (which
I knew it would and was not mental) and I was back on my feet running! The rest
of the time we spent window shopping in ridiculously expensive American-style
stores (because the prices were even more intimidating in Soles). After
regrouping - and ensuring that we hadn’t lost Jared - we were on our way to
market!
The market
was fascinating! However, it contained about 500 repeat items… After a lot of
haggling, finagling, and jinangaling some of us worked our way down to
comfortable prices J. Scouring row after row to find gifts for family, and in
many cases ourselves, we stumbled upon many Alpaca products, extensive silver
jewelry, and - in Hamilton Rothwell’s case - a hammock… which ended up taking
the entire space of his suitcase.
Next, after
a quick pit stop by the hotel to drop off our goods, we were on to the top of a
double-decker bus for a tour around Lima. First, I have to mention that there
was much ducking beneath telephone wires which became a fun game in and of
itselfJ. It was very difficult to hear the
man over the old, crackling speaker (not to mention his broken English) so it
became more of a sightseeing tour as I grilled Billy on the economic position
of Peru and its stake in equities. We saw some old Incan ruins, awesome clay
tennis courts (which made Lauren Greene and I both jealous and salty that we
did not bring our tennis rackets), and several people attempting to hang-glide
off the cliffs that bordered the ocean. Also on the trip we passed by numerous
public parks which are well maintained in Lima. A fun fact Billy told us was
that since Lima is in a desert region in the country every single green thing
in the city is watered by water trucks every day! It really was a gorgeous tour
and gave us a cool appreciation for the quarters of Lima.
Our final
stop was dinner and a show! The buffet was… interesting and definitely
Peruvian… but good none the less. David and I both battled upset stomachs,
something I have been all too familiar with on this trip, but we survived.
Once, settled in we were treated to about six different styles of Peruvian
dance, many of which became interactive! Besides this wonderful spectacle, the
other highlight of dinner was Andrew Bansek and Thomas Carter getting turned
away from an “all you can eat” dessert spread after taking about 30 of the
miniature brownies each! And I must say the brownies helped my stomach too…
once again proving to myself that sugar works very medicinally.
Peru has
been a phenomenal experience, yet spiritually and physically draining, and I
can’t wait to get back to tell you all more about it in person!
~ Preston Smith
The view from the mall court.
Our tour bus.
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