Anglican Cathedral of the Good Shepherd

This morning our children didn’t want to go to church.  Too bad!  They got up finally and had breakfast.  We left the condo, got a taxi, and made it to church.  The Anglican Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is a beautiful church, which I was glad to visit again after our tour from Susan.  We were greeted and handed a hymnbook (Anglican Hymns Old & New) and The Book of Common Prayer.  Inside one of the books was the service bulletin.  We attended one of the English services and the children enjoyed it.  That’s a relief.  I told them that it is good preparation for when we get home, and it will help them with their English.  It took a while to “pass the peace” since we found our English friends who were visiting Arequipa.  After communion, we were asked to come forward for a blessing for safe travels.  This was after Susan had announced who we were; as she became tearful, so did we.  After the service, we headed to the fellowship hall where they had refreshments and the continuation of a book sale from Saturday.  Xavier found three books - thrillers.  After visiting with others in the fellowship hall, we helped box up books to send back to whomever, or from wherever they came.  We left, taking the children to have lunch at an up-scale, all-you-can-eat buffet.  It specializes in seafood, specifically, ceviche.  Okay, I was hesitant, but tried it.  I need to be that example because I’m sure I’ll tell our children to try something in the future.  The shrimp ceviche was my favorite, if I have to pick a favorite.  Raw fish isn’t necessarily up my alley, but the spices and citrus were delicious.  Lizet chose the dessert buffet as her favorite.  She also seems to love the drink, chicha morada.  (I just had Angela type the spelling for me on the plane.)  This drink is made from the purple variety of corn and is fermented; then pineapple juice, cinnamon, and cloves are added.  She also had a gelatin-like pudding made from the same ingredients.  Her upper lip was purple.  Lizet also devoured a certain kind of fruit that is gelatinous and seedy called granadilla.  She loves her fruit!  The others enjoyed a modest helping of foods.  All in all, it was a good experience and I can now say I’ve had ceviche in Peru.  Next, we hailed a taxi to return us to our abode for a few more hours, anyway.  We finished our packing and cleaning and Xavier and Angela took turns taking a bubble bath.  Xavier likes to sit in the tub, rest on his calves, and “dive” into the bubbles.  So, he did that for a while.  He had to show me, of course.  Then Angela spent about 35 minutes in the bubbles, sliding back and forth on her belly.  I had to tell them to keep water off the floor, so I had to repeat myself a bit and wipe the floor with towels.  They are so excited about bathtubs!  I can’t get too mad about things like that.  After a few cartoons and more progress with a jigsaw puzzle, Paul, our English friend came to inspect the condo, and refunded our deposit of S./.900.00 ($300) and we handed him our key.  He walked with us downstairs to our driver, the same gentleman with the van who drove us to our condo in the first place.  We kissed and hugged good-bye and were driven to the airport.  We were fortunate to not experience any traffic and arrived safely.  We were first in line at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter.  I don’t know how that happened.  We checked our bags, and each of us took our carry-on and headed upstairs to the food court.  We had McDonald’s.  The kids got happy meals; actually, Xavier got two.  After restroom breaks, Dave decided to go ahead and pay the departure tariff.  Next, we grabbed our things and headed to security.  We made it through security without a problem, not much of a line here, either.  Then, we went to the immigration line - we were fourth in line.  I think we each had an angel with us.  Everything checked out and we proceeded to the waiting area.  We boarded and here I sit, on a dark plane, typing away while Angela sleeps next to me in 1^st class.  Good-bye Peru… for now.