Mancora, Pope Francis, Machu Picchu

The best thing about traveling with Kathleen is that she is always enthusiastic and excited about everything around her. The hardest thing about traveling with Kathleen is that she is always enthusiastic and excited about everything around her. From a weekend beach excursion in Mancora, to seeing Pope Francis in Ecuador to visiting Machu Picchu, I have experienced so much more than I ever anticipated! Kathleen takes after her father...she never wants to pass up an opportunity to explore or embrace the world around her. This time, she took me along for the ride and I have loved every minute of it (except, perhaps, when I thought I was going to die of heatstroke in Ecuador).

So, to recap the unexpected treats of our time here...
One Saturday/Sunday early in our stay here, Kathleen and I took a bus (van) to the oceanside resort town of Mancora with two cousins, Katlyn and Emily. The church here made all of the arrangements for us on the condition we pay in soles. We think they got us really good rates partly because of who they are and partly because it is winter here and who wants to go to the beach when it is only 85 degrees? They also kept tabs on us the whole two days, even knowing when we would arrive home and picked us up at the bus without our notifying them. They have a huge support system here and watch their 'missionarias' very closely. It was a beautiful resort and beach and a nice pick-me-up after saying good by to the first group of Marquette nurses. It seems as though we are always saying good by to new found friends.

The next adventure was to see Papa Francisco in Ecuador, a mere $40.00, 35 hour trip away. If I had known then what I know now, I probably still would have gone, but I sure questioned myself that Monday! We left at 6:00 PM Sunday from the parish on a chartered bus with mostly parish members and teachers from the parish school. We are pretty sure the principal of the school, a social worker from the parish and another parish employee were put in charge of watching over us. They never let us out of their sight. To clarify, there were 5 of us, not just Kate and me. We arrived at 3:15 AM at the bus station and 5:00 at our place in the dirt at the sight of the mass. It was dark and hot already and we still had 14 hours before we boarded the bus home. There were times I wondered if I would survive the sun and heat, but we all did with absolutely no sunburn, heatstroke, illness, etc. It was a papal miracle which I will believe forever. That being said, it was exhilarating seeing Pope Francis. He was hailed like the hero he is in South America. We left at 7:00 Monday night and arrived back at the parish at 5:00 with new friends and lifelong memories.

Our final excursion was to Machu Picchu. I had no intention of going to see this new wonder of the modern world. My plan was to work during my time here and head home. Kathleen really wanted to see it and at the time I expected this to be my only trip here, so I agreed to go with her. (Now I expect to come back so there was really no urgent need to go this time, but...) She made all of the arrangements (she missed her calling, she should have been an event planner) from the flight, hotel, train, bus, tickets to the site, etc. The church here printed everything for us and we were on our way. We left early Monday morning, arrived in Cusco by 1:30 and met our high altitude breathing difficulty as we walked off the plane. We rested for 2 hours and then walked to and around the square before having dinner. We enjoyed a visit late Monday evening with 2 Marquette nurses after their day on Machu Picchu. Everything was perfect on Tuesday except I had difficulty understanding our Peruvian born, English speaking tour guide. Kathleen asked clarifying questions which helped me tremendously. We arrived back at our hotel in Cusco about 9:30 that night. We shopped Wednedsay morning and left for Piura in the afternoon. A whirlwind trip to an absolutely amazing place!

So, thanks to Kathleen, I have seen and experienced far more than I ever expected to when we left home! I wonder what other adventure she has planned...