Picture this: I am scaling the side of a mountain, sans rope, and all I can envision in my head is that Sylvester Stallone movie where the girl falls from the bungee cord to…well, I didn’t die, clearly, and if you know me at all, you know that I tend to exaggerate. Anyway, as Nicole is yelling at me to straighten up to take a good picture, I am mentally freaking out in my attempts to find footholds as we precariously maneuver our way around rocks. There were definitely times when I was very uneasy and was wishing for a carabiner or two. I now understand why hard-core hikers and mountain climbers always pull out the whole “you have to respect the mountain” stuff. While I was fine, one misstep in my poor choice of footwear (Chacos) would have made me quite acquainted with the dried up riverbed in the valley below.
Nicole and I joined some students from the university and traveled outside of the city to Yura. Arequipeñans do a lot of stuff outside of the city, and it is fairly cheap to get to places by combi (mini bus—also somewhat of a death wish at times). The students decided that we ought to hike to waterfalls in Yura. It was a much needed day trip, and I loved getting out of town. We left our house at 6:15 to catch up with the kids and travel the 45 minutes to the town.
My first mistake: I wore my Chacos, thinking that this was going to be a semi-easy trek. No. (Also, Christy said, “Oh yeah, I hike in my Chacos all the time.” I blame her ;) I think I heard “waterfalls” and thought about wading through rivers and streams in the States. In Peru, you have to traverse massive desert mountains before you see any semblance of green. Once we hit the river, it was so gorgeous, and I was in my element. I loved climbing the rocks and wading through the water. (I only fell once, surprisingly, given my clumsy nature.) It was still a fairly rigorous hike to get to the big waterfall—you hike some serious terrain. BUT, the final waterfall was absolutely worth it. It was huge and the way the sunlight hit it appeared to make it sparkle (Pictures on Facebook). We had good fun wading around (Peruvians are funny and would only get in the water only after the white girls did) and taking pictures, and then we started for the long road home (another 2 + hours). The weather was great, the company fun, and the scenery majestic. It was quite an adventure, and I had a blast. I also have serious sunburn to prove it.
In other news:
-Today on the combi I saw the newspaper headline “Laura Bush esta enamorada con Peru.” This made me chuckle. (Side note: Bushie and his wife have been in Lima with other important people for some kind of summit. You can tell that I am really up to speed on news. ;) Anyway, I was glad to know that Mrs. Bush is in love with Peru.
-I made salsa and didn’t mix it with my hands for once. Usually when I do this, my hands burn so badly. Well, because Peruvian rocotos (peppers) are so hot, just touching them to chop them up makes my hands turn to fire.
-The other day I became acquainted with a Peruvian spa. That was an adventure. It was a good price: 12 soles (4 dollars) for as long as you want. That’s how we suffer for the Lord in Peru.
-I have determined that AQP is a hippie town. I love it. We get along great, even though I’m not a full out hippie here, because oftentimes “hippie” equals “touristy.”
-I got in a cab with a guy named Fidel. Enough said.
-I know I have been harping on how much I love the sunny weather here, but as the Holiday season approaches, I find myself missing cool weather. I do love the crisp air, the smell of Christmas trees, and the weathermen freaking out about “Winter Watch 2008/9.”
-I’ve started to teach some Bible Studies, English classes at an Institute, and even part of Nicole’s university class. Pray that I am given words to say to these people. I love doing it, but sometimes it can get overwhelming with up to 30 faces just staring at me.
Much love, because of His love. I miss y'all, especially during the Holiday season!
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