Last Day Out of the City

Little did we know that February 2nd would be our last day out of the city until we left for America at the end of June. 

Lockdown would be coming soon, and even when restrictions were lifted, travel between districts was still prohibited. 

For this reason (and many others), I'm glad E (Karis' friend) came to visit us so that we had an excuse to make one more trip to the mountains.\

The drive up was beautiful!

And two miles before we got to the base of the mountain, we stopped at these waterfalls because it's a tradition for our family to get out and take pictures here. 

After the teleferik ride, we reached our room at the top in time for sunset.

February 2, 2020

And the next morning, we awoke to a clear blue skies again!

Caleb and E would roll down the mountain, then climb up, and do it again. 

I don't know who had more fun - 

them rolling or us laughing.

We only stayed one night because we didn't want Keira to miss more than one day of school, and also because Kylie had stayed behind by herself in the city to work on school.

February 3, 2020

 

Two Nights in the Mountains

The airport here is still closed (and will be until at least May), and this is not a country that is easily traveled in and out of by car.  

We decided to get out of the city right after Christmas for a little down time, so our team went to stay in the mountains, hoping for a little snow like last year.

It was cold, but unfortunately, like most of you guys, we did not get any snow.

Before we got in the cable car to go to the top, we stopped at a waterfall to stretch our legs

And what do you know...we took another family photo!!

Pretty, with or without snow.

This was last year...

We also took a side trip to a nearby mountain and rode a slow train that took us over the edge of the mountain and allowed us to look down.

A little too scary for my liking.

This is the same waterfall that I mentioned at the beginning, looking down from the train.  Someone is trying to transform this place into a touristy area, but it's still under construction.

We also got to ride sleds with hand breaks.  Everyone else but Keira and I went VERY fast, but Keira and I took our sweet little time.

This is the top of the mountain we stayed on, and Doug and Kylie win the prize for the best picture!



When we came down the mountain two days later, we stopped to take pictures by this gorge.





And then, we got a little crazy...

Apparently, we need to get out of the city a little more often.  We seem to be "losing it."

Trip up North

Two weekends before school started, our language helper invited us and another family to an ancient city up north.

First, we went to a waterfall.  Seems nice and quiet, right?

Well, not so much.  There were loads of people there because it was a holiday, and I guess everyone goes toward water on a warm holiday.

So, we didn't stay long.  We went some place to eat.

They LOVE to use as many bowls as possible...at EVERY restaurant!

Then, we drove outside the city to a clear, cold, underground well-fed body of water.  Kylie and Caleb decided to call it "Mermaid Lagoon."  Karis stayed home, so she missed out on naming it.

No girls were swimming.

 So Kylie just waded with me.

 She REALLY wanted to get in, and I didn't care, so off she went with the boys.


That's her, fully clothed, at the back of the cliff-jumping line.

 She wasn't the only one fully clothed.  This man waded in, and the air filled his pants.

So much air that he was able to float.

 After a few hours, we had a picnic beside the water before we headed home.

 It was a great relaxing way to end the summer officially.