The Final Countdown

"You're really going to miss us" a lady in our church informed us before we left, leaving us amused at her confidence. We've become very familiar with this unashamed pride that many Peruvians exude - about their food, their towns, their scenery, their natural resources, their music and at times, themselves! While we appreciate that Peru has a LOT to offer in many of these areas, this confidence is not always justified but always entertaining!

The truth is there are many things we will miss about Huaraz. We'll miss the colour and vibrancy of the culture, the fact there's always people buzzing about the place - people live most of their lives outside of their homes making streets very lively, the outstanding scenery of the surrounding mountains, the way the sun comes out practically everyday (when it does rain, it gets it all out of its system pretty quickly), many tasty local dishes, some amazing Peruvian hospitality, the spontaneous nature of life here, the lack of 'stuff' we've had which has made life that bit simpler and challenged us about what we actually need, the fact everything is so much cheaper here and most of all, the kids!! As a couple we'll also miss the amount of quality time we've shared - we've literally done everything together: lived, worked, socialised, travelled! For most of our time here we've only really had each other and had to be the other's best friend, family, work colleague, encourager, supporter and counsellor! Thankfully, this has not been a difficult process and no doubt will be something we'll really miss when the busyness of daily life resumes at home.

Of course there's also the things we won't miss and which make our departure from Huaraz a little bit easier. We'll not miss the cold showers we've been enduring with increasing difficulty over the past couple of months, how far we are from the sea and a main city, the lack of food variety (especially since we've only had 2 camping rings to cook on since September!), the really steep hill up to our apartment, the constant noise of car alarms, horns, dog fights and roosters, wearing the same faded, falling apart clothes, walking about with the constant fear of dog attacks, the poor understanding of the concept of 'customer service' in most places, the lack of entertainment and people to socialise with and the fact that we stick out as gringos which always invites unwelcome whistles and comments.

Since we stopped work we attended numerous 'despididas', where we said goodbye to those we'd worked with. These consisted of a late night chicken and chips with our Pastor and fellow kids' club leaders, a meal out followed by another day of eating with our flat's owners/Huaracino family, lunch in the countryside and a game of football with our church (Prudencia, a lady in her 80s, in nets was a particular highlight) and a final lunch with the Latin Link team. Probably the best and worst goodbye was our Saturday night in the Casa Hogar where we stuffed our faces with sweets and chocolate, gave our speeches, presented them with gifts Karen had made and shared a photo/music presentation from our time with them. That was tough. Please continue to pray for them.

Apart from that our final days in Huaraz were spent cleaning, selling our things, packing, making donations, doing our final evaluations for Latin Link and visiting some favourite places for the last time. Of course there were the usual annoyances such as the electricity cutting out the night before we left during our last-minute cleaning & packing or missing one of our despididas because no one told us about it! In spite of this, our hearts were heavy as our colleagues waved us of at the station and the bus rolled through the streets of Huaraz for the final time. Despite difficulties we've encountered during our time in Huaraz, we've built some great relationships and shared amazing times with some special people. Tears have been shed over the last couple of weeks - goodbyes are NEVER easy - but what a blessing to have had this experience.

After completing our 10th and final 8hr bus journey to Lima we've been spending our last few days back where it all began, saying more goodbyes - to our previous landlady and daughter, to people we'd worked with at the beginning of our time in Peru and to Lima's Latin Link team. We've also had to wade through mountains of bureaucracy during a couple of very frustrating and painstakingly long visits to Immigration and are now officially allowed to leave the country. Packing will, as usual, be left to the last possible minute! We came across this quote the other day - 'Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather...thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ´Wow, what a ride!!´ (Anon) - I think we're understanding a bit of what that's talking about at the moment, we're tired, emotionally drained and not looking too pretty but it's been some ride, and it's not over yet!