Dear Mom and Dad,
Our last night in Huacachina proved to be unforgettable. Around 12:00 am, I awoke suddenly. The ground started shaking and a terrible roar swept through our hostel. I knew this feeling, and I knew it well. Remember, our vacation to Mexico? Mom and dad, I know you haven’t forgotten; the one trip with the 6.0 earthquake in Ixtapa. Remember the glasses shaking gently at first and gradually it turned into a full on explosion of noise and rumble? That’s exactly the sensation I felt in Huacachina. I woke up to the gentle vibrations that were at first 5-6 minutes apart. Gradually there vibrations grew closer and closer together with a stronger force as each one came. It felt as though harsh waves were smashing underneath our feet. I knew exactly what was happening and what was about to come. “Charlie,” I whispered at first. No moment from Charlie. “Charlie,” I stated a little bit louder. Still no movement. As the vibrations grew stronger, my fear increased exponentially. “CHARLIE!!!” I finally shrieked. Well, Charlie finally woke up either to the shaking or my screaming, and he yelled, “WHAT’S GOING ON?”
I informed him it was an earthquake, and I thought we were going to die. Okay, so I was being a little melodramatic, but I did have first hand experience in an earthquake that caused a lot of damage. Once everything in the town starts shaking and falling down, there is little or nothing to do. If buildings are going to crumble and fall down, they will crumble and fall down. We smashed ourselves against the wall in order to avoid the ceiling and light fixtures since the weakest part of the building would be in the center. Thankfully nothing came crashing down, and we did lose power for a day. Since we were leaving that morning, it did not have a huge impact on us.
After our scare in Huacachina, we taxied back to Ica and bused to Pisco. On our bus ride we were informed to stay out of the center of Pisco because that was the most dangerous spot. Once the bus dropped us off on the outskirts of Pisco, it became very apparent we were going to have to go into the center of Pisco to save money going to Paracuas, our beach town destination. The cost would have been five times the amount. We did a shared taxi to the center, and then a mini bus to Paracus. This was a slightly scary experience because we knew we were going to an unknown destination where there was petty theft and other crimes.
It actually wasn’t that difficult navigating through Pisco except for the fact we had no idea when to get off the mini bus. We just went with the flow, and when most of the people got off in Paracus, we got off in Paracus. This tactic that we had used so often served us well because we ended up right where we wanted to be. We booked our hostel and headed for some food. We decided on a local restaurant and each ate a burger and fries. BIG MISTAKE. I ended up with food poisoning for the remainder of my stay in South America, and Charlie caught his on the last day of travel. Paracus was gorgeous and we enjoyed the sunsets and walks on the beach; however, we were confined to our room for most of the last three days. Charlie and I can now tell you more than you would ever want to know about polar bears. Yes, polar bears. It was the only channel on in English, so we watched it and actually found it quite entertaining.
We left Paracus and headed off to Lima. The bus trip was all but stellar because like always it arrived over an hour late, and I felt sick the entire ride. Lima was anything but exciting, and I think that was a good thing because at least nobody attempted to steal anything from us. Our last meal consisted of a Whopper and fries from Burger King, which was very ironic because our last meal in Omaha before we departed was Whoppers from Burger King. I guess we were ready for the comfort of some American greasy food.
I can’t explain the feeling of excitement as we finally boarded our first plane. Three months flew by way too fast, but I was ready to come home and see some familiar faces. The full two days of traveling seemed to last forever and at times was very exhausting. We arrived flew from Lima, Peru to Mexico City, Mexico. Our plane arrived and departed late, which wasn’t really an issue because our next flight wasn’t until later in the morning. From Mexico City, we flew to Charlotte, North Carolina to Minneapolis, Minnesota. When we finally landed in Minneapolis, I was everything but exhausted. I started crying before the plan even touched down. Charlie was bewildered that I was crying, but I am a girl and emotions do run wild. I just wanted to hug my mom and dad was all I could think to myself. I tried to explain, but clearly it wasn’t going anywhere. Riding down the escalator seemed like hours once I made eye contact with my parents. I wanted to push and shove everyone out of my way, so I could sprint to them.
Our drive home wasn’t as horrible as I anticipated. I thought I would just want to be home, but eating at Applebee’s made everything all right. I finally got my medium rare steak and a HUGE glass of milk. It was the first time I had drank milk in three months. For a girl that drinks a gallon every six days, this was LONG overdue. Of course, my meal had to be completed with dessert: strawberry cheesecake shooter. I also loved the presents waiting in the car: Girl Scout thin mint cookies and Forbes beef jerky. Life doesn’t get much better then this.
Or so I thought, my travels didn’t end here.
Love always,
Matti Jo and Charles Dale
