Peru 2009 - Days 3 & 4

6/21/09 - We slept good last night...until about 4am. Apparently that's when roosters get up in Huaraz. They must be blind, having no idea the sun doesn't come up until 7!

We have breakfast on the 4th floor. It's quite a climb up those flights of stairs. It really does take your breath away! It is hard to get enough breath up here in the clouds! The view from our restaurant is awesome!

Church at 11am. We walked a couple of blocks. The church meets in a small corner of a building, right on the street. We got there a little early, so we hung out. We were eventually greeted by one of the members. I had totally forgotten it was Father's day until she came up and asked me if I had children! Then I got a big hug and a Happy Father's Day in Spanish!









The service was great, although all in Spanish. We enjoyed worshiping with our brothers and sisters in Christ. What a blessing that was. At the end of the service two young girls got up and sang a song to fathers, then they passed out little chocolate shoes to all the dads. Pretty cool.

After lunch we headed up the side of a mountain overlooking Huaraz, where a giant cross stands. We drove up, but hiked back down - trying to acclimate, getting used to hiking at higher elevation! After the hike we went and visited an orphanage in town.









The kids were so excited to have us there. We played games. They played with our digital cameras. We played more games. They arranged the games so that we ended up losing. During one game of hot potato, I ended up losing and had to stand up and be a statue, moving my arms and legs into whatever position they chose! After playing these games for a while they decided to teach us how to dance. They had choreographed dances that they insisted on teaching us. We thought walking up a flight of stairs was hard! Try dancing to their aerobic style dances for `0 minutes without passing out! We had a blast, but we had to say goodbye.









6/22/09 - The next day we drove 2 1/2 hours to beautiful lake Llanganaco. It is located in the Huascaran National Park - at an elevation of about 14,000 ft. We took a couple of hikes, while enjoying some beautiful scenery. The Andes mountains are absolutely beuatiful. I was reminded of the sheer cliffs of Yosemite, and the vast mountain peaks of Alaska. It is difficult to even describe. Pictures don't capture the immensity of what we saw and experienced.









We stopped in at a picnic shelter where a couple of ladies were selling food. We tried some of the local delicacies: Roasted Guinea Pig and Potatoes, ChoCho beans, and roasted corn. Delicious. The Guinea Pig (called cuy in Peru) is a local delicacy. What did it taste like? The closest thing I can compare it to is rabbit, or iguana. It was a little bit chewy and gamey. Not bad for a rodent!









That night I led devotions with the group. I'm gonna save the content for another post. In the mean time, click here for a whole lotta more pictures...