Maybe you would think I would be used to traveling by now, but I’m not and it’s still rough. Sitting on numerous buses and planes for numerous days is very exhausting. We started our transition from Bolivia to Cambodia on December 28 at 5pm and we finally arrived in Cambodia on January 6 at 11pm.
Now we didn’t travel continuously from Dec. 28 to Jan. 6. We had quite a few stops in between. The cool part is that we were in 5 countries in 6 days.
So here‘s the breakdown:
We left Santa Cruz, Bolivia on Dec. 28 at 5pm. We arrived in Uyuni, Bolivia on Dec. 30 at 4:30am. We checked into our hostel around 12pm and then had the wonderful opportunity of visiting the salt flats in Uyuni. We went for a star gazing tour but unfortunately didn’t get to see stars because it was cloudy. We still had a great time and I got to dance for the Lord while listening to worship music on the salt flats in Bolivia in the middle of the night. It’s an experience I will never forget. The next day we visited the salt flats again and got to take some really cool pictures. It was absolutely incredible and beautiful out there.
Then we left Uyuni Dec. 31 at 9pm. We arrived in La Paz at the bus station at 6:30am and waited until our whole squad arrived there so we could begin our travel together to Cambodia. We left around 7:30am and were expecting to take a bus all the way to Puno, Peru which was our next stop. However, the bus driver decided to make a stop about 2 hours into it and he said we had to get on another bus. We didn‘t all fit into that bus so we had to split up and move all of our bags to other buses. We finally arrived in Puno Jan. 1 at 1 or 2pm, I think, and checked into our hostel. Being in Puno was so relaxing and refreshing for me. We had no agenda. Just a time to hang out with others and eat some amazing food. It was such a beautiful city. We had a chance to visit some floating islands made out of a grassy material they wove together. It was quite fascinating.
We left Puno on Jan. 3 at 3pm and headed to an airport an hour or so away in Juliaca, Peru. We got onto our first plane on Jan. 3 at 10:30pm and headed to Lima, Peru. We arrived there at 12am and slept in the airport until the next morning when we woke up and got onto another plane at 10am heading to Miami, FL. We arrived there around 4pm and it was so nice to be in the USA for about 15 hours. We met with one of our team mates mom who got a hotel room for us so we could shower and do laundry and rest a bit. I got to see my sister and nephew for an hour or so. It was such a good evening there. It was surprisingly cold and I was not expecting it or ready for it.
We left Miami Jan. 5 at 7:15am and had a short layover in Atlanta. I got to eat some Chick-fil-a!! We left there at 11:15am and had our longest flight yet. We flew to Seoul, South Korea and arrived there on Jan. 6 at 4:45pm. We left South Korea at 7pm and finally made it to Phnom Penh, Cambodia Jan. 6 at 11pm. I’m so thankful that our hosts were waiting for us. They are so wonderful and kind. They took us out for some Cambodian food that night and then to where we were sleeping.
Honestly, the next day I was so exhausted that I was walking around like a zombie. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I should have told my team that I wasn’t going to go to church that morning but I wanted to be part of the team so I prayed and asked God for strength constantly. I also didn’t get any coffee that morning so there was no caffeine in me to give me a little boost. After lunch, I told them that I had to go home and rest because I could barely stand up. Also we are 12 hours ahead of the USA Eastern Time so I was also experiencing jet lag. It was a rough day but I got some rest.
I’m so thankful to God for helping us through all of this travel and for all of the favor He has over my life. I truly feel so blessed and look forward to all He will continue to do on this Race, even during all these crazy travel days. Thank you all for your continued prayers.
(Again, check my Facebook post for this update to see pictures and I’m hoping to be able to put some vlogs in the comments too. I’m not sure if it will work.)
