Last day in Cusco and Lima and Home!!

 Our last day in Cusco we went to church in the morning, and the Elder's Quorum took this picture.

Then we hurried home to finish the last bits of packing and cleaning, and I of course had some last minute errands and things I wanted to grab at the market. Ethne was looking for some trim like this for a ukulele strap. So we did find some for her.

Also, I finally got a picture of one of these horribly ugly Hairless Peruvian dog.

Then Javier picked us up and took us to the airport. He gave everyone a gift which was so kind.

Hugs all around.

We had a random citizen snap this picture which is actually a pretty great picture of everyone looking and smiling.

Then we checked in, and due to not realizing you had to check in online during a certain window two hours before your flight, we had to pay extra just to check in and Brett was so mad. But what can you do? So we paid and checked in and waited around for two hours.

It was only an hour flight, and we got our things and found a taxi driver. We were far more savvy than our last time trying to get a taxi in Lima. This guy just stuffed all of us and all of our stuff in his mini-van sized vehicle. It was squishy to say the least. Everyone had someone on their lap, except Talmage who was in the back with all the luggage nearly crushing him. Brett said he could feel the suspension bottom out every time we went over a bump. haha. Good times.

So we got to our hotel, got our luggage in, and then went out to find some food. We ordered pizzas at a restaurant and then walked to a grocery store to get groceries while they cooked. This grocery store was about 5 times bigger than any that we saw in Cusco. It was downright American sized. When we got back to our pizzas we devoured them like ravenous wolves in about 5 seconds.  Then we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

We had the day in front of us, because our flight was a redeye. So we walked down to the ocean. The part of Lima we were in was pretty nice.

We went to one little beach area where there were a lot of people, but then we went farther abroad where there was nobody. We had fun throwing rocks and playing with crabs and dipping our feet in the water.

There were a million gazillion of these little crabs coming up across the shore, maybe to beat the tide? Anyway, the video I took of it gives me a little bit of the creepie crawlies.

Talmage went for an actual swim.

We had sandwiches for lunch. We'd been there for a couple hours, and then we parted ways. Brett took Jethro, Ethne, and Talmage with him to first retrieve Ethne's phone from the bus main office, and then visit the family that took care of Jethro that first day when we were delayed getting to Lima (whose daughter/sister he had taught and baptized in Washington on his mission).

For some reason this graffiti that we walked past was so funny to me. Like, I'm going to graffiti something on this building, how about, "Santa no existe." So sad/funny.

Oh, and Brett stopped at some kind of ruins in Lima that I don't know anything about.

Such kind, generous people that helped Jethro out so much! Their house did have a floor, but the walls were only sheeting, and they had no insulation, indoor toilet, or running water.

Me, Hazel, Orrin, Wyatt, and Navy had an interesting time because I got us lost for a while, looking for a certain ATM. I think we were wandering into the wrong part of town, because after I stopped a taxi and failed to communicate and he didn't take us anywhere, a random citizen that spoke English told me to go back the other way where the grocery stores were and use an ATM there.  So we did, and then we got some fruit and icecream to refresh us from our hot, humid walking.

Then we got a taxi to take us to El Parque de Amor. It was cool and was trying to be like Park Guell in Barcelone (that we've actually been to). But it overlooked the ocean too.

So we walked around there, and then walked down to the next park, watching the guys parasailing (I even asked how much it cost, and it was probably a million times cheaper than the States and definitely Switzerland).

There was a Chinese garden.

Then we made our way down to the beach again, and Wyatt wanted to get in, but I said we didn't have time.

Then we came back the same way to go to our hotel.

We stopped here to get some Ceviche which I wanted to try while in Lima because it is supposed to be super amazingly delicious.

And it was (super amazingly delicious). After we slurped it up, we went to a different, cheaper, restaurant to fill up. (I had Lomo Saltado for the last time, it was very sad.)

After that we found a taxi to take us to our hotel, where we picked up our luggage, and then he drove us to the airport. We waited for a little while before Dad and the others got there. Then Brett helped Jethro go get checked in at Delta (again, he flew a different airline than us).

That morning I had told everyone that if we saw missionaries today while we were in Lima I would buy everyone ice cream. Guess what--it wasn't until the 11th hour, but we spotted some! (Also, I didn't buy them ice cream because we weren't near any.)

We did eventually get through security (it was soooo crowded), get on the plane, tried to get some sleep in the night as we flew, stopped in New Jersey, went through customs and security again...  It was a rough night for Navy.

Then we sprinted to our gate in Denver because our last flight had been delayed, but we made it.

Then we FINALLY got to SLC and found Jethro and Jared came and picked us up and drove us home because he's a saint!!

When we got home we couldn't believe how huge and dazzlingly bright and new our house was--it just seemed different. And everything seemed so clean, and kind, wonderful friends had soup and bread read for us which was absolutely the greatest thing ever. When we went to wash the dishes HOT water came out of the tap! 

Some things Hazel wrote that she learned:

South America is a crazy place.

You can survive with a lot fewer things than you think.

Peru is beautiful.

There are kind people everywhere.

:)