"Now it's Wednesday, Aug 16 and we are on our way to Machu Picchu. We were up at 4am again (it's getting easier to wake up this early) to get on the bus to catch the train. The bus ride there was very cold- we had on all our layers and still were freezing. I curled up in a tiny ball like the fetal position and tried to sleep since it was still dark, but didn't really.
"As soon as we switched to the train, it seemed much less cold and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Some of us had not been on a train before, so we were excited together. The train followed along the river for the entire duration of the ride. It was cool to watch the landscapes & the vegetation change the farther we went and by the time the train got to its destination, everything was green, tropical and lush. (A huge difference from the desert around Cusco & everywhere else we'd been.) Our team was all in the back together in one of the cars & we had a meeting & devotional time followed by prayers. It was really good and we really needed it b/c of our attitudes the night before. (Kirk led it with input from Chris N.) We just needed to get our minds & hearts right b/c of the conflict we had between each other. They reminded us that even though our time in the valley was done, our trip wasn't over & we still needed to come together as a team and keep Christ's goals in the middle & be unified & not self- focused. Without knowing it, our minds had shifted to this thinking & it was putting deviders between us. We heeded the important insight and had a great following day, enjoying each other & especially Machu Picchu. We had all been tired, so our offences were forgiven & we continued b/c that''s how it works.
"Our tour guide met us at the train station when we all got off & he was just excellent. He was very friendly & helpful and informative for the duration of the tour. We took another bus up the mountain over & the ride was only about 20- 30 minutes, but there were so many switchbacks! Part of me was thinking "This is crazy! How/Why do people drive like this?!" and the other part was saying "Well, look at this hill! There's no other way to get up, it's so steep." And it's true! But the drivers here are very skilled & the roads are narrow, so they manage to manouver these large vehicles through the trees & around the bends at speeds I wouldn't dare drive these raods at. Twice it happened that there was another vehicle on the road coming toward us & one or both of us had to back up & move right over so the other could squeeze by. I'm surprised I haven't witnessed an accident yet.
"Once we got to the "top", we went to the coat check to drop off our extra bags/ coats etc., but no one ended up leaving anything. We carried it all, stuffing it into the backpacks (and most of us insisted on keeping our outer layers on as it was still cool and clouded over). Then, the great hike began!"
7 comments:
Man, I have been trying to get on here first so I could post first. I even got the inside scoop that Carmen blogged (from Carmen of course) and you still beat me to the punch.
What, do you sit by your computer waiting for Carmen to post? :P I am glad you are such a faithful reader and such a great friend to her, thank you Wanita.
that would have been amazing to watch the vegetation change like that. i would have been scared to death on that last bus ride. i would have been clenching onto the back of the seat in front of me.
Well it looks like you two are going on a road trip huh... well I hope that all works out, it should be fun.
It was an adventure! One that I won't foget! And yes, Amber, it was pretty cool (and scary). Like a rollercoaster, but in real life, with no saftey nets. :o !
Wait until you hear the next part of the adventure...
Hee Hee, no.
I must not have been there, since I know how to bake and wouldn't mess that up! You must have ruined them yourself... but your chocolate cake is to die for, so it's ok- you've redeemed yourself. ;)
So a few nights ago while you were away I dreamt that I went through the Tim Horton's drive thru and you were at the window and I ordered two Timbits for my dog (a stuffed dog that was in the front seat) and I was hoping you wouldn't notice that my dog wasn't real. I actually dreamt about going through the Tim Hortons drive thru twice since "the incident" so it must have bothered me more then I thought. In my other dream I drove over something in the parking lot and they were going to take 8 thousand dollars off of my insurance to fix it. I'm surprised you don't have a limit for the length of comments on your blog.
Very interesting.... well, I was super excited to see you today at Timmy's, so I'm glad your nightmares haven't deterred you from still visiting once in a while. Why, since you own three dogs at home, would you have a stuffed animal in your front seat? Just a little bizare, I say. Maybe next time we go through the drive through together, we'll take my car, and then you don't have to dream about it anymore. ;)
But you know what IS worth dreaming about? The new IceCap Supreme! You should try one! Butter caramel, or mint chocolate... mmmmmm
Post a Comment