Goodbye Peru…Goodbye Ecuador
Goodbye Peru!! So today is the 7th day of my voyage, and I am leaving Peru. This trip has been pretty amazing so far, and I’ve met a lot of great people. My first day on the ship consisted of getting acclimated to it, working, and hanging out. My next three days consisted of class and work…it’s weird only having a total of 10 class days and the classes consist of papers, projects, and tests!! One night we had a scavenger hunt, played twister, built towers, and had a dance party. Team Awkward was created that night!! Haha My first day in Peru was Friday, May 25. I woke up early, had breakfast, then went to a diplomatic briefing. Then I got to be one of the first people off the ship because I signed up to do a service project! My service project was at an orphanage. We got to repaint a room, decorate, and add toys. Then we had a short break, and we got separated into groups and each got to go into a different house. My house consisted of a mother and five children (2 of the children were at school). They made us lunch, too! It was chicken, rice, potatoes, and a dessert of jello! It was really cool and rewarding! I had only spent a couple hours with the family but it was sad to leave them…I wish I could have stayed with them longer. They walked us out to the bus and said their goodbyes. I arrived back to the ship, relaxed some, then we went to the Indian Market across the street. I bought a jacket (so now I have a Peruvian jacket!), a musical instrument, some souvenirs, a purse, and etc. I spent more than I intended but I’m in Peru!! That night we hung out on the ship with our new friend, Paul…he is one of the crewsmen. The next day, I woke up and ate breakfast. Then I took a trip to Lima…we did a Religions of Lima tour; it was really awesome!! We went to the San Pedro church which was beautiful then we went to the Church and Convent of San Francisco. Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures, but it was breathtaking. Beneath the temple was catacombs which used to be a cemetery…it was really intense crawling underground and such. Then we got to experience the changing of the guard at noon which is a big deal. Then we went to lunch at Padro’s chicken…cicha was the drink, chicken, beets, carrots, french fries, and green beans were the main meal, and lucuma ice cream was the dessert. It was delicious. Afterwards, we took a pit-stop at the post office which recently had a museum placed in it. Then we went to the Church of Santo Domingo. At this church there was the former cell of San Martin de Porras and the remains of Santa Rosa de Lima. I left prayer requests all over. I bought rosary beads too! Our last stop of the day was to the house of Santa Rosa de Lima. We got to see where her bedroom was and other stuff. We also got to see the well in which she tortured herself; at this well the faithful throw letters to the saint in the well hoping for a miracle. I placed a letter in the well…it was kind of an emotional experience because you could see how passionate the locals were about it. After that we headed back to the ship then I had to leave again soon and I headed to the Magic Water tour or something like that. It was really cool! Tons of fountains that light up and have a show every night. After we went to a really nice restaurant with TONS of food! It was like a Brazilian steakhouse!! For appetizer they had egg rolls, cheese, sushi, ceviche, french fries, and so on. The main meal consisted of a variety of meats…chicken, turkey, beef, sausage, bacon, and so on and so on! They came around to each individual person and served them. For dessert, there was so many options but I settled on like a chocolate/vanilla mousse thing…but everyone at the table practically shared their desserts. We also had hot pineapple with cinnamon. Then we got back to the ship, and hung out with Rommel….one of new friend crewsmen as well. We were hanging out with him while he was at work until about 1:00am. It was interesting. Sunday=last day in Peru! I woke up this morning and ate breakfast. Then we got to go tour the Navy ship which was pretty cool! The people were really nice too! Then we came back and ate lunch on the ship and got a taxi to San Miguel shopping center. It was a pretty cool mall! I had some churros with chocolate and guanabana! Then I bought some snacks…llama animal crackers and duck bread and Inca Kola. They wouldn’t let me and Arielle bring our duck bread back on board, so we sat on the ledge eating it and waving goodbye to all the locals. Hehe. We came back, visited Paul, went to dinner, then waited for the boat to leave Peru. Adios Peru!!! On to Ecuador!! Every morning, I wake up, look out my window into the beautiful ocean and realize how truly lucky I am. Lucky to have the freedom to do this, lucky to have the courage to participate in such an experience with strangers that will become best friends, lucky to have had the control to save up the money to make this trip a reality…oh so lucky. -This blog was written on May 27…but because of lack on internet it will be posted later. Ecuador! So four days in Ecuador…what excitement will become of it!! My first day I went to a service visit titled “Feeding the children of Pila.” The place was so simple . It was a great experience and reiterated the meaning of community. Sometimes we get too materialistic, stubborn, and spoiled and we forget about the little things in life. All these children wanted was to laugh…happiness is key. Afterwards I came back to the ship, ate some lunch, then went on a trip to a local hotel. Here I got to taste some local cuisine and watch some local dance. Then that night my crew and I just went and walked around town then came back and played board games and such on ship. The next day I had to wake up pretty early to go to the Isla de la Plata. It was a two hour bus ride and an hour boat ride to get there. We get there and get to hike all kinds of trails; we got a beautiful view of the ocean and I saw some blue footed boobies!! Afterwards we get back on the boat, eat lunch, then we get to go snorkeling! I’ve never been snorkeling before because I’ve always been too scared but it was soo cool! I saw all kinds of fish, turtles, and even a starfish!! We then finished the boat ride and had our two hour ride back to the ship. That night we went to hang out with Rommel at work and me, Nicole, and Arielle became “Rommel’s Angels!” The next day was my birthday!! Arielle came and decorated my room, and I was awakened at around 2:00am by roommate’s friends screaming “Happy Birthday!” haha. So the next day me, Arielle, Nicole, and Carlos went shopping in Monti Cristi. Once again I bought tons of items!! Our taxi driver was “James Bond”. We had bread and ice cream for lunch. Then the taxi driver took us to his house to meet his son, Jonathan. We became Carlos’ Neices. Afterwards we went back to the ship and went to the shabbot dinner. My friends surprised me with a birthday cake at dinner!! Then we met up with Jonathan and his friend Jonathan and they took us out. We went to the disco tech and the Karaoke bar. It was quite a fun night. Afterwards we came to the ship and hung out with Rommel for a bit then went to bed. Our last day in Ecuador came fast! We decided to go to the beach, so we woke up bright and early. I went tubing in the ocean and got a hair wrap. We then walked to the SuperMaxi to get some snacks and such. Then had lunch in town which consisted of ceviche and ice cream then went back to the ship and we soon had to say our final farewells to Ecuador. Adios Ecuador! Hola Panama!
