We started our shift yesterday at 3:00 PM and it went to after 11:00 due to a 9:00 session which RA were both on. We had some time before in the morning to do a little Christmas shopping so we were off to Miraflores for the artisan markets and for lunch. We caught a taxi near our local Tottus market and it was one of those beat up Tico taxis. I think Miky told me it was built in Korea by Daewoo but Daewoo is now owned by Chevrolet. It has a three cylinder engine and gets great mileage, almost like a Prius. This taxi like so many other Ticos was really hammered, literally. There were dents and repairs made to numerous places on the body. My door did not fit quite right and I could see daylight around the top of it. I am not sure what held it closed but I did not lean on it hard. Someone may have stolen the radio out of the car as wires were just hanging into the cavity where it once was. In order to make the ride more enjoyable the driver pulled out his cell phone, set it on the radio play mode and inserted it in his ash tray. We heard music on our trip to Miraflores. Behind our back seat was a LNG pressurized tank. Peru has abundant resources of natural gas and it is not uncommon for taxis to have switched over from gasoline, which is very expensive here. There was not much holding the tank in place and if we had been rear ended we would have been crisped as well as folded and mutilated. Generally speaking we avoid Tico taxis but we did not for this trip. The cost of the trip is normally around 15 Soles in a newer Hyundai or Toyota but this guy only wanted 12. How could we refuse?
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| Carolers in traditional Peruvian dress. |
The driver was not sure exactly where the Inca markets and mall were so we had to stop several times along the way to inquire. When we arrived I paid the man and we learned a new Spanish phrase, "Muchisimo gracias!" He was very pleased with the 20 Soles I paid him as I said, "No cambio," (no change). We asked for a photo of him and his taxi and he was happy to oblige. Muchisiomo is an adverb and according to an online dictionary means:
- very much
- very much indeed
- awfully
- lot
- a great deal
- heaps
- heaps of
- oodles
- very badly
We cannot write much about what we do inside the temple and the experiences therein on this blog. We love it here and serving the members in Peru. It is difficult at times especially when on IChat with our grandson in Bloomington IN we try to explain to him when he tells us, "Grandpa, I want to come to your house." Three years of age is too early to understand what being in Peru means. See also our earlier post about CP and "Are we in Peru in yet?"
We enjoy the responsibilities and duties we have in the temple and we like the taxi driver can say,"Muchisimo gracias," for the joy and happiness we find together here in serving, even if it has been just two months.
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