One of the hardest parts about a mission trip, or any trip, is the mental expectations – when expectations aren’t met, it can be so mentally challenging! I was challenged this trip because I just wasn’t expecting the conditions to be so rough for this first-world, middle-aged woman! My team was amazing though – we began with 3 of us, Amy, Toni and I, flying to Ghana and then Amber joined us as we flew on from there to South Africa. Amy and Toni are both working on master’s degrees in counseling with a focus on trauma and Amber leads training for women to lead effective Bible studies.
Arriving in Accra, Ghana around 2am our time left me just plain tired. After a brief visit with our host missionary, Donna Whitcomb, at her lovely home, we went to the Agape Children’s Home. Donna had invited us to come to fact find and provide training for the teachers and caregivers as they receive more and more traumatized (and trafficked) orphans being brought to them by International Justice Mission. At the home we would stay in the missionary apartment with Craig and Pat, a teacher for the school and his wife. Once we had seen our room (a set of bunk beds and a twin bed), dropped off our bags and settled a little, we were ready for lunch and the grand tour of the place.
The orphans are housed in pods – each pod has a room for the house parent, a common area, and 3 bedrooms, housing 3 or 4 kids per room with each room having its own bathroom. At one time there had been close to 100 kids, but now there are only maybe 25 and most of the pods are being renovated. The big kids help care for the little ones and it truly is sweet to watch. Our tour was given by the home director, Tania, who originally came from Slovakia.
Next Eve, the school director from England, showed us each classroom. All of the classes, even the preschoolers, do Abeka (those Ghanaian students probably know more US History than some public-school Americans!). Each class, when asked how they were doing by Miss Eve replied, “Hello, Miss Eve and visitors. We are highly favored and blessed. How are you?” (Well, each class had its own saying, but they were all pretty similar.) The classes were all preparing for their presentations for the next day – the celebration for Ghana day. The students come from the Children’s home as well as from the area with some having scholarships and some paying.
The following day we did get to see each class dance and recite and entertain us and each other. They all wore traditional Ghana clothes. After the presentations were over, we met with the home staff and then, in the afternoon, with the Academy teachers. The morning discussion was a little stilted as Donna was there, but in the afternoon, we were alone with the teachers and had a great time sharing and encouraging them. When one teacher asked about how to discipline unruly kids since they can’t yell at or swat the kids, I suggested our go-to, and got down on the floor and showed the pushup! On our last full day, with no school because of the holiday, we chatted and played with the kids and caregivers.
My hair got played with so much that it was sticky from all the little hands trying to put it in a ponytail! Toni spent most of the day working with Frank, the male house father, encouraging him and helping him process his past trauma. And that night we went to the service at Agape House Church. (OK, that was strange for us because it was a special service as part of Prophetic Gathering. The speaker that night was Reverend Ampiah-Kwofie and they also had the Twin Prophets Naim and Hakeem Collins from the US. Everything seemed very showy and the more money you gave, the better your miracle would be – say what? Does it say that in the Bible?) We ended the evening on a quest to get some food for dinner (bread), which, as we waited, led to some chatting with some of the kids, asking them to tell their stories.
So, if our time in Accra was so rich with relationships, why was it so difficult for me? Here’s where the first-world, middle-aged woman part comes in. Water and electricity were sporadic when we arrived. So, that nice ceiling fan to keep us somewhat cool, stopped working and we would awaken each morning totally soaked in sweat. Without electricity, there was no power for the water pump, so no showers, no flushing toilets (We were told, if it is yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down – by dumping water from the barrel into the toilet). And finally, when the power did try to come back on, it burned up the power pack for my CPAP. (I should have known it was doomed when I saw smoke coming out of it – but I still prayed for a miracle. Unfortunately, it did not revive). So, now I was not only jetlagged, hot, sweaty and low oxygen, I also could keep my roommates up with my snoring!
But, after 4 days we left and went to South Africa! Spending the night in Johannesburg, we not only had hot showers, we also had vegetables at dinner time (no rice which was lunch and dinner in Ghana). But here I also realized that my CPAP would not be working until I could get a new power pack which is not available in South Africa. Honestly, I felt so tired and despairing, knowing that I was that person keeping everyone up with my snoring. I was ready to turn around and come home. Fortunately, I had Wi-Fi and my wonderful husband encouraged me to keep going (Wi-Fi means so much when far from home!). Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5b. And in the morning, I realized that on every mission trip I’ve been on I’ve gotten sick in some way – perhaps with all the prayers protecting me, only my CPAP could get “sick”!!!
Very early the next morning we continued our travels to the remote village of Canzibe. Although we had an early start for the day, everything took longer than anticipated, including getting lost on remote dirt roads in South Africa for more than an hour. Fortunately, there was a full moon and we arrived at the mission just as it was getting dark. But, our accommodations were not what we were expecting! Instead of a nice place with warm showers and a working kitchen, we found a moldy, smelly, roach infested, gecko haven with no hot water, no fridge and no stove. Our fearless leader Amy, who had just driven 6 hours on the wrong side of the road, avoiding potholes when she could, was dismayed. After a quick dinner, we went to bed – surely tomorrow would be better! 
The next morning, we made our way over to the preschool and our hearts did lift when we saw the smiles from the children and teachers when they saw us! In the year since we had been to Canzibe, the school had moved across the street and another building had been erected. The kitchen was spacious and bright, the classes so much nicer. I spent some time just being with the preschoolers. I had brought some more baby dolls – which they loved getting.
We went outside and blew bubbles which I had brought. (Unfortunately, I was having so much fun blowing the bubbles for them I don’t have a single picture!) And, they brushed their teeth! I encouraged Notambile, the lower level preschool teacher, that she was doing a great job – but maybe the toilet bucket should go outside the room so when the little boys missed, there wasn’t urine all over the floor!
Later in the morning as a team we did some home visits with the social worker – all 7 of us piled into the car and went to several homes and even the nearby school.
At one home, after we talked with one lady, we asked about her sewing and her eyes lit up as she showed us how she had a sewing machine and demonstrated some of her sewing skill (she didn’t need a pattern!). In the afternoons Amber had a bible study for the teachers and I attended them. I also spent time with the aftercare. Currently the program is about 1/3 the size of last year because another program has opened at a nearby school. But now they have 2 young men working with the kids, doing a marvelous job. When they finish for the afternoon the young men then coach the boys in soccer before they go on and coach a team of young men. On our second afternoon I had the kids playing Bingo. They’d never done it before, and those large numbers were challenging for them (like O-75) – but they loved getting prizes as they got Bingo (I had brought a small bag filled with little prizes like hair bows, matchbox cars, spinning tops, etc)! 
Toni, my roommate, also spent time with Zee, the nurse health educator for the area and she invited us to go to not only go to the lookout, but also to one of her presentations at a school (It was about HIV and AIDS). Although most of the presentation was in Xhosa, it was fun to watch her interact with the kids.
Coronavirus update – we made it back just as the borders were shutting down. Now the schools in South Africa have shut for at least a month. Zee will still be able to do home visits but pray for the kids from the preschool and aftercare that they will still be able to eat. They rely on the two meals they get from school each day to eat (breakfast is a corn & bean vanilla porridge and lunch is pap, a rice and bean mixture – looks just like the mixture made if you’ve ever done a meal packaging event like hunger fight)
So, after getting back, people ask if I had a good trip. It was GREAT – and it was HARD! Waking up with a cockroach crawling on the back of your neck is hard. Holding a two-week old baby for 2 hours so its momma can participate in a Bible study is great. 
Having one warm shower in 2 weeks is hard. Seeing eyes light up because they are blowing bubbles for the first time is great. Being sleep deprived because your oxygen levels are low because your CPAP power is blown is hard. Making a new friend because there’s no electricity so you talk a lot is great. Flying 18 hours on a plane and throwing up because you ate the food when you knew you shouldn’t is hard. Getting to spend a 6-hour airport layover going to a rhino and lion safari is great. 
Being worried about getting back into your country and potentially getting Coronavirus on the plane is hard. But ultimately, knowing that you are being used by God is more than great, it is amazing. And, I can’t wait to go back – but maybe with different expectations and a battery back-up for my CPAP!
David Platt serves as pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C. He is the founder and president of Radical, a global center for the unreached that serves churches in accomplishing the mission of Christ. Resources from David Platt and Radical can be found at radical.net.
Early the next morning we departed for Baños de Agua Santa, 3.5 hours away and our home base for the mission. The three women – my daughter Rachel, her friend Angela, and I – all stayed in one room and the solitary male, Jim, stayed in another. We also had as part of our team Susana, the doctor and mission team coordinator, her daughter Daisy as well as 6 of Susana’s grandchildren – Annihe (17), Mattias (16), Samuel (15), Juan (11), Adrian (8) and Ezekiel (4). And in Baños we were joined by Pastor Raul and his adult daughter, Yojanny.
Then the pastor would talk to them, telling them about Christ and the need for Him in their lives.
One old lady – the 96-year-old one – didn’t have any pain or problems and was absolutely thrilled when Rachel told her she was giving her some cream for her face – you should have seen her eyes light up!
Yes, I had river fish every day – on one day we even ate on a trout farm; they caught the fish when we arrived and cooked it fresh for us. Very tasty if you enjoy trout (but not one of my favorites). (Dinners were a little more varied – soup, some form of meat, rice, potatoes and a “salad”. One night the salad was cooked mixed vegetables mixed with mayonnaise.) After lunch, we saw more patients until they stopped coming – and then we closed shop, piled back in the van and went to wherever they decided we’d go!
This house is literally a tree house high on the mountain overlooking the town of Banos far below. There we swung on a swing, which was neat, but the clouds were so heavy you had no clue how far below the town was. (They took us to 2 different swing places!) We also had coffee up at the Café del Cielo, a coffee shop with lovely windows to look down below. Another day we ziplined across the Rio Verde – hooked into our swiss seats backwards so we could soar over the river! 
The pastor, eager to show us his area, also walked us down to the magnificent Pailon del Diablo waterfall and chatted in Spanish with me the entire way! 
One evening we went to the highly recommended baths, Las Termas de la Virgen, and got into a hug tub with 75 of our closest acquaintances (and it was a weeknight – we couldn’t imagine how crowded it would be on the weekend!). 
But, even with our “lemonade” day (When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!) we had a fabulous time! We began our stay by buying at the airport information desk the “Holland Pass” that gave us “free” (how can it be free when we paid a fair amount to get the pass) entrance to several places and discounts for others. We also asked about buses to Haarlem where we had reservations to see Corrie Ten Boom’s house (The Hiding Place). Nicely, the bus/train system in Amsterdam is pretty easy to work and we were soon on our way to Haarlem.
Me neither! But Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist, vandal, political activist, and film director. In other words, he does graffiti and is mentioned in one of the Oceans movies. We also went to a diamond cutting place – but I didn’t buy anything! With that, we walked back to the train station, taking in the sights – and stores – as we went, and caught the train back to Haarlem. After checking in at our BnB, we went and got pizza at a nearby place – so yummy! And then we crashed!
Have you ever tried a stroopwaffel? It’s a very small, thin waffle, sliced in half, and then glued back together with a sweet caramel filling (you can see one in the picture above resting on the tea cup). After eating cheese, we were directed to the stroopwaffel shop to see them made. When they needed a volunteer, they chose Kate, so she got to help make the stroopwaffel. They are so yummy and you can buy them at Costco or, if you fly a morning flight with United, they will serve you one – warm it up on top of your coffee!
a canal boat ride, a bus tour, a houseboat museum (ok – it used to be a houseboat, it’s 100 years old and now you can walk through it), and of course the streets of Amsterdam. Doesn’t seem like much when I type it up, but we felt like we stayed busy! We also went to a photo studio and got our pictures taken as Rembrandt subjects – that was fun!
What an amazing adventure! I knew Africa was far away – but I didn’t think about how much traveling there would be! Planes, trains, automobiles, vans, buses and safari trucks! And, of course, our own two feet! The journey began last June when I signed up to go on a 10-day mission trip to South Africa with 10 other ladies from my church. We met and planned for months – and now, Thursday, January 31, it was time to depart for the airport. Such excitement! We had first a 10-hour flight from Dulles to Accra, Ghana where we landed, changed out the crew and passengers, and had our passports checked (we stayed on the plane). We then took off for another 5 hours to Johannesburg. Our foreheads were checked for elevated temperatures before we could come into South Africa – fortunately we were all good! We were greeted by our guesthouse representative and wisked us away to our lovely rooms, a refreshing pool and dinner! The next morning after breakfast we returned to the airport for our next flight to East London. It was a shorter flight, followed by a very long van ride. We made it to Canzibe in time for dinner – which was traditional South African Bobotie, and moved into our house – 13 women, 2 bathrooms.
Part of our program with them was teaching that they are special – each has attributes given by God. On our second afternoon I had the girls grades 4-8 come to a separate room and we talked about how they were special and different from the boys because they would menstruate. I then handed out a purse to each girl that contained 2 homemade reusable washable sanitary pads, 3 pairs of underwear, a bar of soap, a washcloth, a toothbrush and some other small item. They loved the purses and the contents! It was so fun to see their delight and it made all the many hours of sewing the pads worth it!
I gave the three 18” dolls I had brought to the little girls there and we played with the kids for a while before going to our lodging about 15 minutes away in Coffee Bay. Here we experienced paradise with lovely beach rooms on the Indian Ocean! I roomed with Maggie, from BCC and Kholiswa, the African program director for 25:40. We had the opportunity to go for a hike the following day to see the caves Nelson Mandela hid in during the revolution as well as to cliff jump into the ocean. It was quite the hike – up and down hill, over rocks and rivers. We went into huge caves, sat in fresh water pools and ultimately, climbed barefooted up a cliff to jump into the ocean water far below! It was scary and amazing! Later we also went by safari jeep to “Hole in the Wall”, a well-known natural arch on the Wild Coast not far away.
What a day!!! Our driver drove us directly to the airport where we met up with the rest of our team and boarded our plane, returning the way we came with a 5-hour flight to Ghana and then a 12-hour flight back to the US.
We opted for a pass that got us the Hop-on, Hop-off Bus, Sea Life Aquarium, Wildlife Sydney Zoo, Sydney Tower and Madame Tussaud’s! I’m usually not that impressed with the open air, sightseeing buses, but it really was great for Sydney – the blue bus goes further out of town taking you to Bondi Beach (the famous Sydney beach). 
We saw things we would not have otherwise seen so I highly recommend it! The bus also has a running commentary about the history of the area and what you are seeing.
There we also got to
Our guide told us all about the design and the architect – Jorn Utzon,a Swede, who was basically fired from the job halfway through the project. He did live to see the day that UNESCO recognized the opera house as one of the most outstanding places on earth in 2007 even though it had only been built 34 years earlier. There are more than a million Swedish made tiles covering the roof – and they are designed to never need cleaning. The Opera House was the place to be that day as Prince Harry and Meaghan were also visiting about an hour before us!
Our biggest event in Sydney was actually climbing the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, or the coat hanger as they call it. What an experience! We showed up at our appointed time and after getting our flight suits on and divesting ourselves of all personal items, got our safety harnesses on and began the assent – through the pylon, up ladders, and finally to the top of the bridge. 
The view was magnificent, especially since we had done the evening/night tour, so all the lights were twinkling in the skyline. I am always amazed by God’s creation – either the natural or the man-made and seeing the city lit up was wonderful! We were also really thankful it wasn’t raining!!
The koala’s fur was very short and thick and soft! The kangaroos reminded me of my golden retrievers – they just wanted the food and would hold your hand to keep the food there. Petting koalas and feeding kangaroos was pretty amazing!!
The view of the waterfall from there was magnificent! After that we went down to the valley floor via an old mining railroad that goes down at a 52-degree incline – the steepest in the world – which was quite the ride (we did it 3 times!). We finished our day by going back into Sydney via the river – a river cruise! (Interesting fact – Sydney Harbor and the river that feeds it is a known breeding ground for bull sharks – it’s not very safe swimming outside protected areas!!).
As we wandered, we were as likely to hear Chinese spoken as English. We did enjoy some amazing Thai food, right around the corner from our very quaint, Victorian flat (well, the building was Victorian but they had updated in the 21st century so we had old floors, tall ceilings and modern Ikea furnishings!)
I’m looking forward to my next trip! P.S. While we were in Sydney, we saw the Royal Caribbean ship, Radiance of the Seas, set sail – maybe someday I can cruise from Sydney!
Edinburgh – the city of sad Queen Mary of Scotts, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, and grey skies! Kate and I had originally planned to go to Stockholm – but realized we probably wouldn’t get a seat on that plane so switched and got to fly first class to Edinburgh! We arrived on a rainy, cold, JUNE day and, after taking the bus to the city, were so grateful a taxi was willing to pick up a couple of drenched, lost wanderers and take us to our apartment! After we had dropped off our suitcases and changed, we discovered the skies had cleared up some and we began to see the sights. We had 3 must sees – The Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh Castle, and the Palace of Holyrood. Happily for us, we discovered we could get a ticket that not only included the 3 of those but allowed us to use the Hop-On, Hop-Off buses for just a few dollars more!
This castle, built on rock high above the rest of the city dominates the capital. It changed hands many times between the Scots and the English. Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI (King James of the English) here in 1566. And here also you can see the Scottish royal jewels. 
We just missed the 1pm firing of the cannons but instead got a picture of one of the soldiers in his kilt!
It served as a shop for several merchants at one time. As the area became more run down, there would have been many families living in it, one per room with as many as 10-12 in a family (ugh!). John Knox, the religious reformer, lived here for a little while and it is believed that he died here. He was ordained as a priest in the Roman Catholic church but became disillusioned with the church and was drawn to the idea of a reformed religion. He was one of the main figures behind the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots as he thought that a King brought up as a Presbyterian would be better for Scotland. Today, the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian.
I ordered a Scottish dish: haggis with neeps and tatties, not knowing what neeps and tatties are. Turns out they are mashed yellow turnip and mashed potatoes. All three dishes were yummy!!
We had a factory tour scheduled and we didn’t want to be late. The process for making the pottery really is interesting. First, they press the clay into a mold. After the piece has dried they add additional parts – like mug handles – and smooth the edges with a wet sponge.
Admittedly, I had been following another car, but it just didn’t seem right to be right in the middle of the town square! Fortunately, we were able to eventually find parking and explore!
and the Christmas museum/Käthe Wohlfahrt store (the huge store that sells Christmas decorations year round)
What a sweet and precious reunion! We quickly checked into our hotel – Am Weissen Turm, a quaint 800-year-old building located inside the city walls – before getting some dinner. 
And after dinner we all enjoyed the night watchman tour of Rothenberg – a tour given at dark by the “medieval night watchman” who walks you around the city giving insight to the old city. This was fabulous and so worth it!
One foot after the other – just keep walking – step by step – for 9 hours, up and down the mountains, through the eucalyptus trees, avoid the cactus, move over for those moving faster. Would the hike ever end?
However, in Peruvian style, the service officially started at 10 – which really meant at 10:40 or thereabouts! At 12 we had to leave as we needed lunch and then to get on the road. We drove for several hours with each town along the way having its own character. One was known for its earthen bricks, another for its breads and another raised guinea pigs, which is a delicacy here in Peru. At one point we got to the altitude of 14,200’. At last the van stopped and we were told that the road was not passable because of the rain, so we would need to cart everything down into the canyon, cross the creek and then carry it back up again. I was amazed at how breathless and huffy/puffy that little exertion made me, but we were at 12,000’ or so and not used to it at all! After getting everything unloaded, we unpacked the medicines and sorted them into different duffels by type and explored our new home – the old 2 room school house – men in one room, the dental/optical/dining room, and women in the other room, the medical/pharmacy room.
Emotionally it was hard pulling the teeth from little ones – especially knowing that for some it was a permanent tooth and they would always have that gap. At times I had to hold their heads still as tears poured from their eyes as Cal injected anesthetic into their gums. Fortunately, I had brought a grocery bag of small stuffed animals and dolls that I gave to them to hold and then keep during their painful procedures. And, although Cal could and did do fillings, few of the children had teeth that fillings would fix. Patient after patient – pull teeth, clean the instruments, get ready for the next – they kept coming all day! One patient had to have 3 molars removed (lots of blood and pus) and then have the hole sewn up – I helped hold the thread and later cut it – I’m glad that’s not my future occupation! We had a few laughs – like when the lamb wandered in to watch Cal at work. Or the when the kids came too close and Cal squirted them with water. Our work day ended at dusk and then, after dinner, the town president addressed us and thanked us for coming to their almost forgotten community. One of the teachers also thanked us and told us about their school system – how they teach the youngest children in the Quechua language and then they learn Spanish. But the nearest high school is 3 hours away.
The roads were dirt roads, often with streams crossing them, but after a few hours we made it to our next location (the team would take many more hours to get there – 8 hours total) and began to get the rooms set up. This community had us climb a ladder to our sleeping/cooking rooms with the dental and medical rooms below. 
Our only toilets were 2 squatty potties and you needed to take a bucket of water from the outside tap in with you to flush them. Eventually the rest of the team arrived – hot and tired. Rachel had gotten so badly burned that she had blisters on her arm and ears – even though she had applied SPF 50 sunscreen several times.
They do it and then are delighted to also spit into a hole!
When we had made it to the top of the mountain ((and after stopping for quick pictures at the “pod” hotel (see in the upper right background) – someday I want to come back and stay there!)) we then got to zip line down!
What a journey – it was step, rugged and by American standards, so dangerous that no one would be allowed to climb it! But it was amazing to make it to the top, even if it was only 8,924’– and would have been even more amazing had the cloud cover lifted so we could actually see Machu Picchu from there!
But the sun, and temperature, is dropping quickly so we changed into dry clothes. It turns out the guys have to sleep in the huts and the gals get to sleep in what looks like a mud floored shed. Gratefully, we go to sleep – and sleep well because during the weekend Vicente, our leader, managed to purchase some blankets for us so now I have one to put on the floor under me to help keep me warm as well as padded (the 20-degree sleeping bag with liner doesn’t keep the cold away enough!)!
We build a fire in the back of the hut to get rid of the bugs and mosquitos – but the smoke is hard on us. Trying to keep the instruments clean is also hard as straw falls down on them. One dog likes to keep us company in the hut and we stay busy all day, mostly removing teeth. Occasionally when the dentist didn’t need help, I would go over to the pharmacy and help count pills there! Every prescription had the pills put first in small plastic baggies with direction labels, which were then put in a sewn cloth bag. These bags were delivered to the pastors who gave them to the people. But, before giving the bags, they did health education, preached the gospel and counseled! Around 4, as the sun and temperature went down, we closed shop. After our early dinner, we had time for a bonfire and the marshmallows came out. We had one wise guy who found some cow poop about the size of a marshmallow and was roasting it before being discovered. But it was good to laugh!
Two weeks ago I never would have believed that I would be in an open field with dogs and lambs wandering around, surrounded by majestic mountains, helping a dentist extract teeth! One three-year-old wailed for a long time after we pulled 2 of her little teeth yet a 20-year-old stoically laid there as we used the hammer and chisel to break up her molar to extract it. This day a lot of our patients were the porters who carry the food and belongings for the tourists hiking the Inca trail.
During one of the lulls, Rachel and I with 2 others from the team went up to the Inca ruins right above our little site. What a beautiful view from there – high, snowcapped mountains towering over us! We finished our day by packing up all the equipment and getting ready for the hike out the following morning. We went to bed early as a heavy rain storm swept into the area. (Is it too early to go to bed if it is only 7pm?)
We encountered lots of tourist groups hiking, as well as the porters carrying their stuff. Just as we are saying “Buenas dias” to another set of porters, one tripped on a rock and face planted himself on the Inca trail. Immediately blood gushed everywhere but the doctor and nurses were on it – applying pressure, getting gauze, putting on steri strips and stopping the bleeding by putting a tampon up his nose! 
He had broken his nose and cut open his nose and forehead. He was in no condition to continue. His fellow porters took the team gear he had and repacked it into their already full bags before we loaded him up on a horse to have it carry him off the trail. An hour or so later we crossed a most rickety bridge and were off the trail,
ready to load the stuff into the waiting van and truck. Driving to the nearest medical clinic, we sought some local help for him – but they had nothing for him! Yes, Peruvian medicine at its finest! They did not think it was an emergency. We couldn’t just leave him so some of the team went to the pharmacy, bought supplies needed to sew him up, and did so. Meanwhile, a race around the nearby square was happening which caused more injuries. Soon, in the triage room of the clinic, they had tourist with a broken nose and cut arm and a racer with a broken leg with the bone sticking through the skin. Obviously, it was time to leave and get our Quechua porter to a hospital. However, at the hospital in the bigger town they were having a party so they couldn’t see him either. One of the pastors lived not far from there so we went to his house and in the back yard the doctor was finally able to staunch the bleeding using silver nitrate in the poor man’s nose (back yard to keep the blood from getting on the floor and to keep the man from getting the virus (or maybe typhoid) from the sick child!) 
With the bleeding stopped, we got back in the van and returned to Cusco, dropping our poor man off with his hiring agency – and we returned to the hotel, exhausted but glad we had been at the right place at the right time!
– the dinner good and the show long for us tired travelers! Our final morning in Peru we take a quick walk along the Pacific Ocean and watch the surfers before returning to the airport and flying home. 
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