Every flight was on time and uneventful, other than a few bumps of turbulence. We were able to see smoking live volcanos as we flew over Guatemala, as well as, the Panama Canal from the air! Fun stuff!
When we arrived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia we had to go through customs. The flight arrived at 12:47 a.m. Monday morning. We woke all of the children out of a dead sleep and carried our 14 HEAVY carry ons off the plane and were the last in a line of about 144 people. Paula would not stop crying. Thankfully, some of the people in front of us insisted that because we were traveling with small children we should take this other line that the flight crew went through that had not one person in it. It was like getting in the "fast pass" line at Disneyland! We were so blessed, as it knocked at least two hours off our waiting time! After customs we had to wait for six hours for our next flight in the Santa Cruz airport. All they had were some metal seats to wait/rest in. Hmm not very conducive to a good nights rest... I got the idea of making beds for the children on the luggage.
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| First Memories in Santa Cruz! |
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| "Ahh, this feels great" |
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| Hard, but Comfy! |
It worked out great and all of the younger children slept like babies until it was time to wake them up for our last flight! Rudi stayed up to keep an eye on us and the luggage. Being the friendly guy that he is, he had some nice chats with several different people. One lady he met owned a bakery/coffee shop in Santa Cruz and had taught CEF!!! I thought that was pretty amazing!
After four flights totaling approximately 14 hours and 24 hours worth of layover time we arrived in Cochabamaba at nine Monday morning! We were met by Jennifer and crew with four cars to haul all of us and our 600+ pounds of luggage to Vico & Elena's house where we will be staying until we get our house
set up this week. What a blessing to arrive at some amazing guest quarters. We have two bathrooms and four bedrooms at our disposal. Vico & Elena have made us feel most welcome and are settling us in and showing us around.
Thank you for praying for us. We are encouraged and excited for what the future holds here for us!
Welcome here!!! Sorry that your first full day is full of strikes and blockades, but such is Bolivia. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post, Carla. And thank you, Father, for caring for them all the way to Cochabamba and for your children there who are making them comfortable and welcome.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard about the smoking volcanoes sighting--a new sight, for sure! We are thankful ours just sit here and refrain from smoking! You know how smoking is frowned upon in Oregon! :)
I also did not hear about the strikes and blockades, just about the warm and helpful welcome and the three hour naps.
I am so thankful you are keeping this blog. Big hugs all around.
This is going to be a great adventure for all of us as we follow along with you!! I am so excited for your family! Love and prayers! Aunt Margee :)
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