I am so very blessed to come from a family that truly values travel. My mom and dad were brave ones and would take our big family of five on international and long road trips all the time. I honestly could not tell you what I got for Christmas last year, but I can remember our family trip to Paris when I was 11 or our big cross country road trip to San Diego when I was 9. Spending 24/7 in hotel rooms or cars with my siblings is not always the happiest environment to be in on these trips, but they are the most fun and most loving times and create the best memories.
As many of you know, my brother is serving a mission for our church and leaves this October. The whole family will not be completely together for the next two years, so we decided to jet set and enjoy one big family vacation that will last us for the next two years.
The adventurous family that we are (halfway kidding) made the journey to Peru, where we visited both Lima and Cusco. Keep in mind that my family has a 10 year age difference between me and the youngest, so finding activities that everyone could do and making sure we always had nap time was essential.
In Lima we tried the tourist thing and visited Plaza de Armas which has the royal palace, the archbishops home, and the Catedral de Lima. We learned from these places that we appreciate tours and the things of the past, but not for very long. We then discovered many market places and little chinatowns and ate a lot of authentic Peruvian food. We also met up with one of my Dad’s old mission companion and were incredibly blessed to interact and talk with natives in his companion’s home as well as at church on Sunday. And adventure wise? A few of us went paragliding over the city, even Cruz did it, and loved it!
Now, give everyone a little bit of altitude sickness from going sea level to 11,000 feet and you have the Vergara Family in Cusco. We also learned on this trip that we are not big city folk and all enjoy the sun and nature more. To get acclimated to the huge elevation change, we walked slowly, shopped and ate in more markets, and enjoyed the sunshine.
Cusco was really only a place to sleep because the star attraction was Machu Picchu! We took a super fun train ride through the mountains, listened to traditional Peruvian music, ate the traditional food, and enjoyed the sights. Machu Picchu itself was jaw dropping. I now know why they call it one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We were a little more adventurous in Cusco too because we went zip-lining in the Andes! From mountain to mountain, going upside-down, superman style, and screaming the whole way down the line.
Honestly, as a family, we did a lot better on this trip with controlling attitudes and tears. I truly enjoyed talking and hanging out with my siblings, and it’s probably an age thing, but I totally consider my siblings good friends these days. Never thought I would ever say that… They are all good fun.
You’ll see the Vergara Clan in our entirety in two years. And wow, that reunion will be so so sweet.
xoxo,
Lyds
LIMA
CUSCO
MACHU PICCHU
ZIP-LINING THE ANDES
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