Pisco Sorrows

Today is Friday, February 25. As I write this post, it's about 5pm in Peru. We're at the Wyndham, just steps away from the Lima airport. We've gotten to know this hotel pretty well, as we've made it our home base for all those flights in and out of Lima. I'm sitting by the hotel pool, which is indoors and the size of a postage stamp, while Taylor and Wyatt burn some energy swimming. And I'm so sad!

Tomorrow, we head home. It's a long travel day: A 7+ hour flight to Dallas followed by ~3 hour flight to Orange County. I've been feeling lots of feelings these past couple days, and I'm guessing I'll be feeling it all tomorrow.

*****

Yesterday, we said our goodbyes to Felix and Casa Barco about 9am and hopped in a taxi for Talara. We flew on our last LatAm flight back to Lima. (We were on the tarmac extra long in Talara for a 'technical problem' with the plane, which seemed like it was built in 1970. Thank goodness and then some that the technical problem got resolved. Tim and I didn't care to think about a worse-case scenario in Talara.)

Talara airport: Gotta pay for that surfboard bag one more time.

When we arrived in Lima, we headed for Miraflores, a popular district in Lima. We walked around a bit to stretch our legs, then drove into Barranco (the neighborhood next to Miraflores) for more walking around and dinner.

This morning, we enjoyed croissants and coffee for breakfast, then had our COVID tests done. The results: Negative. We high-fived each other and felt our test worry melt away. After the tests, we walked through a few Miraflores parks; the parks, which overlook the ocean and are incredibly well-maintained, are just beautiful. When the kids had had enough walking, we returned to our hotel, packed up our bags yet again, and checked out. We headed for Larcomar, the most incredible shopping mall we've ever seen!, for lunch and to pick up a couple souvenirs.

It's COVID test time!

Wyatt went first. Note the socks with sandals; it's a new look for him. And yes, that Eagles sweatshirt will be the first thing I wash when we get home.

Here goes Taylor.

Taking a walk (or a sit) in Miraflores' Love Park.

It's no treadmill, but it's the next best thing.

As promised, I threw out my horribly foul-smelling running clothes. That tank top and those shorts are really no bueno.

Around 3pm, we said goodbye to Miraflores and took a taxi to the Wyndham. And so here I am, at the tiny pool, writing.

*****

This trip has been superb. I remember thinking at the beginning, "How are we going to make it two months? That's such a long time. Maybe we should have planned for a shorter duration." And now, on the other side, I find myself wondering if we could have done three months. The kids are definitely ready to go home; they miss our dog and their friends and recess and Heinz ketchup. Tim and I have mixed feelings; we're both excited and sad to be going home.

Our adventure has tested and pushed us all. Tim and I see growth in Taylor and Wyatt; in the early days, they'd say things like, "This is weird" about something new or different. We haven't heard them say that in a long, long time. I hope the kids are more resilient; I think they are. I hope the kids are more flexible; I think they are. 

We've had this protected time, just the four of us, to talk and wonder and learn about each other. We've had this special time to explore and observe and gain new perspectives. We've also just generally had a lot of time together, so on the plus side, going home will allow for more space. 👍

Personally, I've loved getting to know Ecuador and Peru. I have a slight bias toward Ecuador (#amalavidaEcuador), but both countries are beautiful and much more biodiverse than I ever imagined. My one regret is that I didn't learn enough Spanish to really converse well, although I've decided to stick with Duolingo and keep working on my Spanish skills once we're home. 

I wonder what our re-entry will look like. Will I feel overwhelmed during my first trip to the grocery store? (Do we seriously need 30 types of bread on the shelves?) Will I have newfound appreciation for toilets in which I can throw toilet paper? (Affirmative.) Can I get by on less clothes? Can we keep playing cards? Do I still need to subscribe to all those email news-y newsletters? Can I have more passion fruit in my life? And that's just the beginning.

We asked ourselves today: "What are you proudest of from this trip?" I loved hearing our answers and I loved remembering. We looked at pictures from our first week; we were so green...and our hair was so short and our clothes were clean.

Before we left home, we said, "Ahh, it'll be the trip of a lifetime!" And now, we'd like permission to edit those words. This is not the trip of a lifetime. This is a trip -- a most dazzling adventure in 2022. It's been wild, it's been marvelous, and we are immensely grateful. But we have many more trips to take, and who knows what those trips will hold. True, our future trips may not look like this one; we may have more responsibilities to work around from here on out. But we will pursue adventure, we will pursue this exciting world -- with backpacks, two kids, and lots of bug spray.

And though our Andean adventure may be coming to an end, we're not yet ready to button up this blog. We've got some more posts coming, including a 'by the numbers' listicle and a family reflection piece. (So please stay tuned!)

Dear Reader, we thank you for coming along on this journey with us. We thank you for the comments and prayers and texts and good vibes -- we heard and felt it all, and loved it. 

To Sachamama and Pachamama, we thank you for this wide world and for showing us such beauty over the past two months. May we all do our part to make our world last forever and ever.

To Tim, thank you for all the hours you put in planning and plotting. Thank you for all the LatAm wrestling matches and for the many internet searches to find just the right hotel. Thank you for making us laugh and for talking me off a ledge about rabies, Zika, and so much more. It should be known that Tim engineered 99% of this trip, and deserves all the kudos for making it exquisite. From Indonesia in 2008 to the Amazon in 2022, I'm glad this guy's my travel partner.

And to Taylor and Wyatt, thank you for being such fabulous children. May you love nature and animals always, may you seek creativity always, may you wear sunscreen always, may you adventure always. Daddy and I love you, and wouldn't want to swim with sea turtles or caimans with anyone else.

Tonight, Pisco Sorrows Sours. Tomorrow, a plane ride home.