After a crazy, busy two weeks, we have arrived in South America and starting Sabbatical Part 2. Our flight was scheduled for Tuesday, February 4th, but was cancelled the night before at 10pm, as we were getting ready to head to a hotel, by the airport. A big snowstorm was headed to Kansas City, so we thought it would be better to stay by the airport, so Scott’s parents would not have to drive us in the bad weather. God totally answered my prayers, because I truly needed one more day to finish getting ready. They rescheduled us for Wednesday, February 5th and we only had to change planes once in Dallas, where we would have had to change planes twice the day before.
Scott’s parents were so wonderful and made the trek to the airport on Wednesday with the one lane roads. Thanks Mom and Dad!
I have to say that I was pretty amazed that Scott, Kane and I each had one back pack, Kat one small rolling suitcase and 1 small checked bag, with all our stuff for 5 months, in South America. We have learned to “go lean.” Nothing like RV living to prepare us for this! 🙂
We arrived in Lima around 2am and reached our beds at 3:30am. Pretty crazy!
We ended up hiring a driver to take us around in Lima since we only had one day there. It was worth every penny. He spoke English which was so helpful. We started our morning at the “free breakfast” at the hotel. The kids were so excited by the fresh squeezed juices(orange, papaya and pineapple). I think their favorite item was the small round bread(no idea what kind it was).
Then we headed to Plaza de Armas to see the changing of the guards at the Palacio del Gobierno(White House of Peru). This changing of the guards ceremony takes place every day at noon. The kids thought it was cool, but they were withering under the 80+ heat. My poor husband got a sunburn on his forehead due to not wearing his Mizzou hat, since his wonderful wife told him we didn’t want to stand out like tourists. 🙂
After the changing of the guard ceremony, we headed across the Plaza de Armas to visit the La Catedral de Lima. Francisco Pizarros mislocated remains lies in this cathedral. They realized they had the wrong body when they found the “real” body in 1977 in the catacombs below the church.
See the guy with the hat? That’s Pablo our driver.
Next was the Monasterio de San Francisco. This church and monastery are known for the catacombs of 70,000 people and magnificent library that houses thousands of antique texts.
Our final stop of the day was trying to find and unlocked cell phone that we could use for emergencies.
We walked around the corner from our hotel for dinner. It was a little challenging reading the menu in spanish! Hopefully soon, it will not be!!
