Our race in Peru
didn’t start til Friday morning…very good for us considering we didn’t get to
bed til 3am Thursday night. The Cooley family set up the whole thing for us and
it was AMAZING! We piled into a bus at 10:30am and drove to and unknown
location where we were given our instructions. I’ll just let you follow along
for yourselves to see how our day unfolded…try to keep up!
Destination 1: Puente
de los Suspiros
You must get from the drop-off point to the first
location on foot – no rides permitted. There are two tasks that you must
complete here.
First, near this
location (Puente de los Suspiros) is a large structure that has fallen into
disuse. There is a statue in front of this structure. It is a bust (head) of a
person associated with the structure. You must find out his name (easy) and how
he died (not so easy). If you do not find out how he died, your team will be
given a five-minute penalty.
Second, at
the rear of this structure is an overlook. Take a team photo at the overlook
with the structure in your photo’s background.
This first destination
was about a mile from the drop off point. I was quickly reminded how out of
shape I was and realized it was going to be a LONG day running all over Lima!
Destination 2: Parque
Del Amor
Your team will need to make its way to this well known spot.
Rides are permitted here. There is a large sculpture at the center of this
location and a serpentine wall that is covered in mosaic tiles. The names of
many amorous couples are inscribed here. You will need to find one specific
couple’s inscription. “Edgardo y Liu.” Take a team photo with the inscription
clearly visible in the background.
We had to run about 5
blocks before we found a taxi to take us to this park. We got there first, then
the search began to find the right inscription on the HUGE wall. I found it and
made the mistake of yelling out, “Hey guys, I found it!” The other teams heard
me and all came running…oops!
Destination 3: The Pacific Ocean
You will need to get to the water on foot. Near the park you
will find a walkway down to the ocean. CAUTION: be careful crossing the streets
here! This path terminates on a road that goes down to the ocean. About10 yards
from where the path meets this road you will need to cross the road. (There is
a small park, or garden at this spot.) Take these steps down to the ocean. Using
dirt pathways is not allowed and will result in disqualification.
It was about a 10 min
run from the park to the ocean along a pathway that included about 10-12
flights of stairs. As we were running down I was already dreading the run back
up!
Destination 4:
Physical Challenge, Swim for the Keepsake
Someone will be on hand to direct you to a flotation device.
Each team member must swim out and secure a keepsake from one of the two
flotation devices. Once person at a time, like a relay. The current swimmer
must be completely out of the water before the next person can start. Each and
every team member must have their own keepsake before your team can proceed to
the next destination.
Jon led us off, then Talia, me, and Eric finished strong. The swim was SO much harder than I thought it would be and the gigantic waves added another
dimension of difficulty. I made it out
about 3 feet and a huge wave came in a knocked me flat on my back. I think I
swallowed a gallon of salt water. This lovely picture is me collapsed on the
beach after my lap.
Destination 5:
Larcomar
You must make your way from the ocean to Larcomar on foot.
You will proceed up the last set of steps you came down. However, instead of
crossing back over the road, you will stay on the south side of Parque Del
Amor. About 20 hards beyond the little park there is a set of steps that cuts
off the pathway to the right and runs up beside the tennis club. Take these steps
up to the top. You will need to ask directions to Larcomar.
The run back up the
stairs was tough! The swim took about 90% of my energy so it took some serious
encouragement from Jon and Eric to make it back to the top. Talia had already
ran ahead and gotten directions so when we finally got to the top we knew where
we were going. I survived the stairs, but it was time to run again…
Destination 6: Manos Morenas
At Larcomar, there is a restaurant called Manos Morenas.
Here is where you will eat lunch. Your lunch will be ANTICUCHO. There is an
anticucho combo for 15 Soles ($5) Each person much order this combo and
eat/drink the anticucho combo in its entirety before you can move onto your
next destination.
We discovered that
Anticucho is actually COW HEART…yummy!
Destination 7: San Francisco Monastery
(the Catacombs)
This is a famous monastery that is built
above an extensive network of catacombs. You are free to use any mode of
transportation that you like to get to this destination. Here you are required
to take a team photo in front of a round, stone structure in the catacombs that
looks like a large water well. In this instance, however, the well is full of
carefully arranged skulls. Take another team photo with the skulls plainly visible
in the background. From this point proceed on foot to the next destination.
Our taxi driver (Carlos) was amazing and managed to pass up the other
teams on the way to the monastery. Once we told him we were in a race he went
to drastic measures to make sure we got there first! The Catacombs were amazing…too
bad we were only in there for about 10 min! There is so much history there, I would love to go back and actually look at
everything again before we leave..
Destination 8: Barrio
Chino (China town)
From the catacombs you
will make your way to Barrio Chino. There is a specific shop that you are
looking for called Chifa Chiu Wa. Here you will each treat yourselves to Mim
Pau. Like the anticucho, each person must consume the Mim Pau in total. Continue
on foot to Destination 9.
This was about a 12
block run from the Catacombs to China
town. We got there and discovered that the name of just about every place there
started with “Chifa”…must mean café or something! It took some hunting, but we
found it! Mim Pau is a type of dough
filled with something sweet that tasted somewhat like chocolate…
Destination 9: Plaza de Armas
This plaza is in Central Lima. There are two carriages that are each
pulled by a large horse. The driver wears a tux, including a top hat. Each
carriage carries six people. Your entire team must take a ride around the plaza
in one of these carriages. After your ride is complete, you are free to
progress to the last let of the race and you may once again secure motorized
transportation.
This was another long
run to the plaza and lucky for us, Jon sprinted ahead and just barely secured
our carriage ride with the driver before the other team could pay him. The ride
around the park was a much needed break!
Destination 10: The
top of San Cristobal
The team that makes it
to the foot of the cross at the top of San Cristobal,
overlooking greater Lima,
wins the race. All teams are expected to complete the race and to make it to
this ultimate destination. After a time of rest and celebration, there will be
a time of corporate prayer for Peru
and the World Race church planting projects.
After the carriage
ride we grabbed a taxi and headed for the cross. We were just barely ahead of
team L.O. heading up the mountain. We got to the top, ran to the cross, and
secured the victory for team YETI!! We finished the race with a time of 2 hr
and 51 min. L.O finished 4 later.
Here are just a few more team pics and a bit of the view of Lima from the top.
What a day!! I have a
good size blister on my foot and every muscle in my body aches, but it was so
worth it! It was so much fun getting to see so much of the city, and of course
it was great to finally win! After the race we walked back down the mountain
and our bus took us back to the plaza by the ocean. We watched an amazing
sunset, and God even blessed us with Starbucks!
