In the morning we packed one last time and left our bags in storage for the day. I confirmed over the phone that a clinic on the other side of town would perform rapid antigen tests for COVID so we headed in that direction via the Plaza de Armas. The security was still in full effect but at least you could walk to the front of the Cathedral. Although others were entering, we were turned away at the door despite our face wear. We never got a clear reason why but were told to come back after 10. There appeared to be a church service under way. The clinic was too far away to walk so we caught a couple of taxis and managed to get dropped off at the same place though we were charged different rates. I was the first up for the deep nasal swab so I could find a place to exchange money for the first time on the trip while others were tested. I got a much better rate than what the individual stores gave me when I paid with dollars earlier in the trip so I should have exchanged some sooner. We were told we would get the results in 2 hours via Whatsapp. We took taxis back to the Sun Temple. The underground museum was still closed, presumably due to COVID, but we were able to go through the church and museum at convent that was built over and around the Sun Temple. There’s an amazing collection of colonial art including a painting of Mary being crowned by the Godhead each of whom are depicted with a physical body. It’s a fascinating and tragic contrast to see the original Inca walls of the temple within the walls of the Spanish church. The presentation is very well done with natural lighting and lots of open space.
We returned to the Cathedral at the Plaza de Armas and were admitted. Lisa offered starbursts to whoever found the painting of the Last Supper first. There are three connected churches so it was good to have helpers scouring the walls. It turns out the famous painting from the mid 1700’s has a viscacha not a guinea pig on the table along with the local drink Chicha Morada but it is still a really cool painting that the boys even seemed to appreciate. We still couldn’t walk across the Plaza but were at least permitted to walk on the interior of the perimeter without detours. We needed a lunch plan so I finally submitted to one of the many guys on the street trying to coax tourists inside for a meal. It was an all inclusive fare and had the best potatoes and chicken of the trip in addition to a few new novelties. 
Afterwards I walked ahead of the group to find the place to buy tickets to the ruins above the city at Sacsayhuaman. It took a while, but when I did, I was told that we could buy the tickets at site which I had not thought possible. In order to catch up with Greg we needed to walk down the edge of the square but the guards didnt speak English. Luckily, Natali was able to use enough Spanish to get them to let us walk through to the other corner. Once we exited the square we drew a lot of attention when Andrew took a swing at Mack with the bag full of face shields. The shields flew all over. But soon another distraction took center stage as a man snuck through the line of guards to walk across the square. He was quickly picked up and dragged back out amidst much yelling from him and the crowd. Things calmed down just as Greg met up with us.
We hailed a couple of taxis and headed up the hill. When I arrived with the boys, Kate, and Emily the other taxi was nowhere to be found. After a few minutes wait I became a bit nervous. The ticket counter didn’t take credit card or dollars and I didn’t have enough Soles left for more than a single ticket. We only had an hour before the park closed and we had to leave at that point anyway to catch our flight so the plan had just been for Lisa and Natali to go in with my Mom. The guards told me there was another entrance a kilometer away across the complex, perhaps they had been taken there. They radioed to their counterparts but couldn’t find a group of American women. I bought a ticket for myself and walked to the other entrance, arriving just as they entered. They had exchanged dollars with someone in order to buy three tickets. I took a quick glimpse at the familiar massive walls and wished I had time to walk to the viewpoint over looking the city but decided I had better get back to the others. The guards were sympathetic and let Emily take my place without another ticket since she was excited to see the ruins. While Natali and I explored (before Emmy came in), Lily sat with Grandma and apparently they made some friends. Another little girl came and wanted her picture taken with Lily. THey both had on pink shirts. Lily was flattered and weired out to get so much attention. Natali and I explored the whole site but were pretty confused - our understanding was minimal at best. It was cool but we wished we had some knowledge of what we were looking at.
As we exited the park we found a bunch of llamas taking care of the grass. The girls pet a few of them as a farewell to Peru.
Mack, Andrew, Kate, and I waited 45 minutes for them to explore before the park closed and then we took our last taxi rides back to the hotel. Oswaldo was waiting there to apologize (and probably to get his well-earned tip from the Machu Picchu excursion). His wife had needed to go to the emergency room and he had left his phone at home. After one last ride in Andean Adventures’ van we are dropped off at the Cusco airport to start the LONG journey home.
After several tries we were feeling comfortable with the process for the domestic flights and all of the steps involved to check in with multiple reservations and mom’s luggage all while shuffling 9 passports, boarding passes, face-masks and shields. Just take a deep breath and I’ll be fine. At least we had plenty of time. All the devices were charged during our 2 hour wait and we quickly lost the kids’ attention. Peru was good while it lasted! I hope in the long run that the hassle and expanse are all worth it and I think they will be to create the memories and broaden the kids’ horizons. Everyone started noticing new bug bites - how is that possible. We were eatten alive in the Amazon and I guess the Amazon just keeps giving. The little girls would be itching their legs for weeks. I wrote on the plane that there would likely be more adventures before we made it home and unfortunately that proved prophetic.
At the airport in Lima we repeated all of the check in and COVID protocol one more time but were able to use the premier line since mom was flying first class. Our final meal in the Lima foodcourt wasn’t quite a final taste of Peru but the kids weren’t complaining about Papa John’s pizza, Starbuck’s pastries, and KFC with Inca Cola. We had about 5 hours before our 12:45 AM departure so we were all tired before we got on the plane. Mechanical delays on the tarmac delayed our flight more than an hour and a half, long enough to get me stressed about making our connection in Houston. But there wasn’t anything we could do about it at that point. Once again I read for much of the flight and closed my eyes hopefully for an hour. In Houston we got no sympathy from the agents and had to wait our turn through the immigration lines as I watched the clock and counted down the minutes. By the time we made it back through security I jogged ahead through the terminal only to find a closed door and a plane pulling back from the gate. I kept sweating for the 20 minutes I waited in line to talk to an agent. She was a bit sassy with me and I did my best to stay calm. After an over night flight we were rewarded with an extra nine hour layover in Houston, but at least we would get home that night—after 10 PM. What a trip!
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