Over the mountains and through the tunnels

This week we made our 18th trip as a family over the Andes mountains.  Trips 19 and 20 are in a month from now.  This trip isn't just any old road trip.  It is an intense drive of windy, twisty turns, huge drop-offs with no guardrail, jaw dropping scenery, and crossing over "the top" which is at 16,000 feet.  There are 19 tunnels, roughly hewn from the mountains and at least 120 very annoying speed bumps!

We have our landmarks and we guage the trip, not by hours, but by these.  We try to leave early in the morning from Pichanaki and the drive starts out with a bang.  Dramamine is the only way Lucas can tolerate it and usually, there are headaches all around.  Our first landmark is La Merced, the town where we stop and buy organic coffee and jelly.  Next is San Ramon, next Tarma, with its beautiful little villages and fields of flowers.  Next is our "chicken sandwich stop" at the restaurant Tambo, in the town of La Oroya, which is freeeeeeezing every time.  The toilets are like ice cubes.....just a little t.m.i. there.  Next is "the top" called Ticlio, where there are almost always snow capped mountains to feast our eyes on and we have difficulty drawing a deep breath because of the height.  Once we start heading down, the trip is still wicked windy but starts to be a bit easier.  We always stop at "Mana" in San Mateo to use the clean bathrooms and buy imported snacks like Pringles, M&M's and really good cafe con leche to go.  After that, it's pretty fast into Lima where we're welcomed with the dirt and rock mountains and of course, the traffic.

Depending on how long since our last trip, we may head straight to McDonalds, Starbucks or just home (Brent's parents' house).  From Lima back to Pichanaki, our stops/landmarks are basically the same, with a few variations, depending on how hungry we are or how quickly we want to get back.  When we arrive back to our apartment, we are greeted with intense heat and a layer of dust covering everything.

We've decided the trip is just too easy as it is, so we've added traveling with a puppy, just to shake things up a bit.  Bella travels in her kennel, usually throws up at least once but sleeps most of the way.  We do take longer on our stops so she can take care of business.

I enjoy these trips because of the family time, the memories we're making, the laughs we have together, and the amazing creation of God, but don't necessarily like the danger of it.  Did I mention that it is all two lane and there is constant passing, jockeying for position, idiot drivers, etc.?  Yeah, there's all that too.  Praise God for His traffic angels......and I really believe we have them!