We think this wood comes from the jungle and we aren't sure who buys it...maybe the people who bake the bread?

Cuy or guinea pig is a delicacy here.  We haven't tried it yet.  This one is still young.

   The Nazca Branch Young Women are all decked out in their finery for the Gold and Green Ball.

We looked out the window and what did we see?    Cometas or kites everywhere....There were over 30 kites and 100 people in the field across from us.  There aren't a lot of open areas big enough to do this.

First Day of Spring

People of all ages were out celebrating the arrival of spring.  However, we hate to see winter here go.  We've enjoyed the cooler weather.  Days have only been in the high 80's and nights 60 or 70.

Home Again!

We enjoy visiting Lima, but it is always good to get back to Nazca, although we can feel the heat picking up again already.  It is supposed to be spring, but we got out the fan and put away the bedspread.  A sheet is almost too heavy and we don't hit summer til December. 
Attendance hit 120 in Nazca Rama Sunday. 
The families in San Marisio had a family home evening last night with 25 people attending.  They held it in the little passageway in front of the houses there.  The Elders helped bring a TV from down the street and every one brought their own chairs.  The Prodigal Son was shown and they talked about the importance of the Savior and repentance.  What an experience! 
And a girl stopped us on our way home to introduce her sister who wants to be baptized.
It's great to be back!

Dr.  Loo is our dentist in charge of our crowns.  Fortunately, we have very skilled people here to work on us.  He comes in on his day off to get our work done as quickly as possible.  Normally, the crowns are a 3 day process, but he always manages to get ours done in 2, so we can get back to work.

These condors look like Pepe from Ica's cousins.  They were peeking in our window one morning.  The Mannings are kind enough to let us stay with them for our dentist visits.

The view from the 22nd floor is a lttle misty from the fog. The weather here is a lot more temperate than Nazca.  The people say it is freezing but we enjoy the brisk air.  Lima is like a different world in more ways than one.

Los Misionaros

                

                                    Paragliding is also popular here along the cliffs.

    The dots you can see in the water are not sea lions, but body surfers.

If you know Elder Jones, you know I only got a quick glance at the stores here.  But it was fun to glance!

     We are enjoying seeing all the water, since Nazca is total desert.

It was disappointing to discover that even in Chili's in the big city the bano's often have something in common.  Care to guess what's missing?

Strange as it sounds, we are happy to sacrifice a few teeth to come to Lima so we can eat chips and salsa at Chili's, which we did here at Larco Mall.  The mall is built out of the cliffs along the seaside.  We eat first because we can't after the dentist visits.

Dr. Gonzales's office is very tranquil, which is a good thing given the amount of time we have had to spend here.   He has a patio outside the glass windows with beautiful flowers and a swimming pool.  I asked if he lives here, but he doesn't.  We're glad of his very comfortable sofa.

3rd tooth later

Dr. Gonzales is our endodontist.  Actually, this is our 4th tooth if you count my 3 and Elder Jones' first one.  This time mine was eventually pulled and Terry got a crown.  We get our root canals here.

    The quechua people from the sierras always wear traditional clothing and often have a little one in their "backpack".
    

Another birthday celebration, but for the Primary.  The district had a big fiesta with a program and all kinds of snacks.  The girls even bought dresses to wear.  Much of the time they wear levis.

Many of the young people go away for training after secondary school, but  there are some technical schools and this new Trade Tech will be a welcome addition when it is finished.

        Nazca's OK Tire Store.

Fancy car washes like this are unusual.  Most people use a bucket of water and rag at their house.

These little booths or shops go for three blocks in one direction and four the other.  They are separated by a sheet of plastic and put another one down in the front at night.  We walk through them because they also have a sheet overhead for shade.  It makes you dizzy to go down the aisle. 

                      Elder Curi didn't have Elder Jones' years of wisdom.

Here the custom is to shove the person's face in their cake while you sing "Felice Cumpleanos".  Elder Jones made sure no one was close to him while he took his first bite.  He only got whip cream on his nose.

  Not only did Elder Jones get three cakes, but another of his favorites, popcorn.   We won't have to  cook for a week!

    Oh, another surprise!  The third cake of the day was made by Liz and Cristhel, not bad for their first attempt.  Not a lot of the people here have ovens.

    Oh a surprise!  Hermana Faustina, Estrella and Luhana passed by with a big chocolate cake.

Cristian, Cintia and Jesus started off the birthday celebrations for Elder Jones. Notice the checkerboard chocolate and vanilla pattern of the cake.  Cintia helps her mom make cakes for weddings and birthdays.

      

      We have our choice of 5 or 6 churro stands on our way home every night.  It's a  good thing the carnival ends this week!

The carnival people have been here for over a week.  They live in their little booths with the plastic sides down at night.  You can see the laundry drying.  We hope to ride the "rouletta" or ferris wheel  one day.

                                                     The carnival has rides for all ages.

The street on the other side of us was closed off for a funeral.  When someone dies here they bury them the next day.  An awning was set up with chairs and flowers.  Afterwards, the mourners followed the hearse behind this car.  They sang and played instruments as they were walking past our house.

They graded a new street in the field down from us because our street is closed off for the carnival that is here for 2 weeks.  They put games and rides below us in the road and the ground where the market usually is.  For the market on Thursday and Sunday, they have to set up on other roads.  We're glad we aren't taxi drivers.

 Another popular item is the bird eggs.  We haven't tried these yet, but I noticed

          they are cooked, so that's a plus!

                    We stopped to try some of Hermana Chalco's peanuts.  She is from the Nazca Rama.

It's now the season for mani or peanuts.  They don't grow in this area but are brought in.  There's as many mani stands as there were orange stands earlier.