Ben and Tenesha's Visit

Ben & Tenesha arrived on the night of September 1st. It was pretty amazing to see them getting off the plane and knowing that they came all that way to see us. We spent the first week they were here in Cochabamba showing them some of the tourist sites and our day to day lives. Right after they got off the plane we took them to the main plaza to help us and the Morels with our homeless ministry. Must have been quite a culture shock! On Friday we took the to La Cancha, which is the largest open air market in the world, and then to one of our homes where we played soccer with the kids. Saturday was our really busy day. It started with Ben and I going to a men’s prayer breakfast that is hosted by our church on the first Saturday of every month. We then picked up Natalie and Tenesha and went to Casa de Amor, another orphanage here in Coch, to help feed the kids lunch and put them down for their afternoon naps. Then it was off to the main plaza for babywashing. Ben and T really enjoyed this part as they were able to wash kids alongside us and our new friends the Hulseys.

That night we went to our church since Sunday was national no motorized vehicle day. After church we went over to the Morels for games and desserts. Sunday was a relaxing day at home. We played games and rested after the busy day we had on Saturday. On Monday morning Natalie went to Carachipampa, the school that she tutors Gracie at, and I took the Bakers to our weekly meeting. After the meeting the three of us went to the nutrition center to help with them feed the kids lunch. Then it was off to the Christo. The Christo is a 33.3 meter tall statue of Jesus with his arms spread out as if he were embracing Cochabamba. The views from up there are amazing. Tuesday was spent doing construction work on our two newest orphanages in Kewina. Our last day in Coch was spent between Carachipampa, Casa de Amor, and packing for our trip to Peru. Our flight left Coch that evening and we spent the night in La Paz before flying out early in the morning for Cusco.

We arrived in Cusco around 10 am and were taken to our hostal. We spent the morning wandering around Cusco and resting before our city tour in the afternoon. Here is a picture of the Cathedral in the main plaza in Cusco.

Cusco was the capital of the Incan Empire so there is a lot of history right around and in the city. The city tour took us through the Cathedral, to the Sun Temple of the Incas, and to three Inca ruin sites on the outskirts of Cusco. Here is a picture of all of us in front of the Sun Temple, which has been mostly reconstructed and is used as a church and monastery now.

Friday in Cusco was a free day. We spent the day going to art and history museums as well as just walking around the city. In the later afternoon we walked up a street called San Blas that leads to an artisan area. The street, pictured below, is extremely narrow and steep. As cars were trying to brake on it you could hear their tires skidding on the cobblestones.

On Saturday Ben woke up sick, so him and T stayed at the hostal and took a bus up to Ollantaytambo, which is where the train for Macchu Picchu leaves from, to our hostal. Natalie and I went on a pre-scheduled tour of some old markets and some more Inca ruins in the Sacred Valley. Here is a picture of us with the Sacred Valley in the background.

Here is a picture of us at the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo.

The tour bus dropped us off at our hostal where we picked up Ben and T and went out to dinner. The next morning we caught the train up to Macchu Picchu Village and then got on a bus that took us up to Macchu Picchu. Here is a picture of us near the entrance to Macchu Picchu, the ruins are over a ridge on the left hand side of the photo.

Here is a picture of all of us in front of the Macchu Picchu ruins.

Macchu Picchu was absolutely breathtaking! Definitely one of the most amazing places I have ever been. We took a tour through the ruins with a tour guide and learned a ton about the site as well as Inca culture and society. It was really cool to see this huge “city” that was built right in the middle of the rainforest. At the end of our tour we did a little hike that took us along the Inca Trail for about 20 minutes. Here is a picture of part of the trail.

The Inca Trail is just as impressive as Macchu Picchu. It is a trail that was literally built on the sides of cliffs. There are sections of it that seem impossible to have constructed. Even with today’s technology this trail would be incredibly difficult and dangerous to build. Macchu Picchu was completely worth the trip. If you ever get the chance to go we would highly recommend it. Here is our version of the famous Macchu Picchu picture.

After the tour we returned to Macchu Picchu village where we stayed the night and the next day. We spent that day touring around the little village and even made a little stop at their hot springs. That night we took a train and then a bus back to Cusco. The next morning we flew back to La Paz. We spent the day in La Paz just playing games and talking about how awesome the trip had been. The next morning Ben and T flew back home and we flew back to Coch. It was really hard to have them leave. I don’t think we realized how much we miss our family and friends until they left. We are very grateful to Ben and T for taking the time, and spending the money, to come down and visit us.