The wheels on the bus……
The people on the bus……


It all began at 8:30 in the morning when Edgar arrived, and we immediately headed to pick up his family and on to Jicamarca to Hope House. We loaded the kids into the bus and singing Spanish songs, laughing, picking on each other in fun, anticipating the day’s activities began as we travelled to Pat’s Place and their family piled in. One more stop to pick up Heather and Mattias. We had Betzy’s wheelchair and Wilder’s stroller. Everyone had a backpack with their lunch and drink. We were ready for a big day of fun. After all, this was the last hurrah before classes resume on Monday. Summer vacation was way too short!

We had 35 of our Peruvian kids and grandkids on the bus, without a seat to spare. There were four in some of the bench seats, and little ones were sitting on laps of their siblings! Plastic chairs where in the aisle. But no one was complaining. We were on our way.

The first stop was San Cristobal, known as the highest peak in the city of Lima. It is a lookout with a lighted cross on the top, and to access the lookout area, the narrow, winding road is pretty much wide enough for one vehicle. If another vehicle is met on the road, there is some unique maneuvering done by both drivers with only inches to spare on the cliff side, between the two vehicles, and on the downward edge of the rock mountain. The road trip up and down is always a little exciting for some, and very scary for others. The families had never been to San Cristobal so seeing the city, river, major roadways, tiny soccer fields and houses below was of interest to all. We paused and posed for a group photo before moving on to our next stop. The excitement of the day was just beginning.

We returned to the bus and headed into the city, to the zoological park and when our bus found a parking space it was in the shade and near a grassy area where we had our lunches. Soon everyone was ready to go to the zoo. We determined it best for each Momma to be responsible for her family, for the Peruvian women who worked at Pat’s Place and Hope House to assist with those children and families. This way all of us didn’t have to walk the zoo together. We had a planned meeting time and place 3.5 hours later. I had one responsibility – Don!

Throughout the zoo trails there was shade, some benches, and your typical green space. There were thousands of people at the zoo, but it wasn’t crowded. We all meandered along seeing the exhibits, watching the animals and pausing for some time on the playground and field. The families joined together for a soccer game while some of us stayed and kept an eye on the backpacks! (That was Don & I and a couple of the other adults!)

During our walk through the different zoo zones (coastal, mountains and jungle) we enjoyed the environment of those areas along with the animals native to them. Let me tell you, the roar of the lion could be heard loud and clear, and the giraffe was a lot taller than I remember the last time I saw it! The children loved watching the boa constrictor slither its way across a log and down a branch. There were sea lions and penguins. The black cougar was beautiful, but a little too big to warm the foot of your bed. You name it, we saw it. (Although we didn’t see the whole zoo in this visit.) The park has lots of areas where people can sit in the shade, children play in the grass, bring balls, blankets, lunches, and just hang out for the day.

It was a very quiet ride back home after a long hot day and heads were nodding as children slept and teenagers napped. The 26 children (the youngest family member was 4 months old, and the children were ages 2-11 and 13-18) had a great time. By the time we got back to our place it was an 11 hour day and we, too, were exhausted from a busy fun day in the sun.