Peru, Part 4

Thursday was a day that we didn't visit any children.  I really wanted to go to another project, but this day was designed to allow us to have some fun and to take a break from the emotions we had been experiencing.  We went in several vans into the jungle with a tour group.  Our guide, Omar, was hilarious.  He gave us some historical background, but he also told jokes.
First, we went to a very old bridge which I would have been afraid to cross a few years ago, but I can do it now.  I had to have my picture taken with my Terrible Towel on that bridge even though I don't like pictures of myself, but this is a Steeler Nation tradition.

Then we went to a place where two rivers converge to form a third.  I sort of chuckled because I have been to Pittsburgh a million times where the Allegheny and Monongahela form the Ohio, and those rivers are much bigger, but this was nice.

The highlight of the day for me was swimming under a waterfall.  Because I have a Lifeproof case on my iPhone, I was able to take it into the waterfall.  I have a ton of pictures, but I'll try to share just a few and a couple of videos from my phone.

There's no way I was willing to test the power of that waterfall!!  I'm sure it would have slammed me onto the rocks, but apparently it was very refreshing--the jungle was quite hot that day.

Watch on Vimeo.

Watch on Vimeo.

Here is a picture of one of a few series of steps we had to climb to and from the waterfall.

After that, we walked to a nearby waterfall called "Vella de la Novia," or "Bride's Veil."  We had some serious steps to conquer there, too, but it was worth it.

From the top of the waterfall

This is much better on Vimeo.

I loved the beauty of the jungle.  I couldn't believe I was actually there.  We did a couple of other things, but the waterfalls were the best, for sure.  The very last thing we did was to visit a coffee factory where I had to buy some coffee, of course.  I also bought some chocolate for baking.  Coffee and chocolate--how could I go wrong?

The next morning, we left La Merced to travel back over the Andes Mountains to Lima.  I was disappointed to leave the jungle, but I knew that going back to Lima meant I would be meeting Jack.

I took a few pictures from my hotel room before we left:

Motor taxis are a common form of transportation.

Then it was off to the Andes.  I took most of these pictures through the bus window, so you might see a reflection.

 In Peru, people can just choose a piece of land on the side of a hill or mountain and build a house.

My new favorite drink

That night back in Lima, we went to a grocery store after dinner, and then a few of us went looking for coffee and hot chocolate.  Actually, I didn't want the drinks, but I wanted the adventure.  At first we tried McDonald's, which sold neither.

Some members of our group, who don't speak Spanish, asked some police offers, who don't speak English, how to get to Starbuck's.  Not surprisingly, we went the wrong way.  After we realized that, we stopped a guy on the street, I asked him in Spanish how to get to Starbuck's.  He answered in English!  He had lived in New Jersey for four years, so he spoke fluent English.  I was laughing at myself because I thought I would save the day by speaking Spanish, and it wasn't even needed.  We finally found Starbuck's:

I went to sleep that night excited to be able to visit Jack the next day.  I couldn't believe I was actually going to be able to meet him in person!

Check back for details on that amazing day.