Family Time in Samaipata

June and July have been busy months. I have several catch-up blog posts to write in the next few weeks so watch for them, but for today I want to share about our last few days which took us to the small mountain town of Samaipata for some much needed family time. So many people have recommended Samaipata to us and now we understand.

Here are a few of our small (three day/two nights) vacation highlights...

On our way to Samaipata, this eight-year old girl waved us down for a ride. She was coming home from school and only needed us to take her a few miles which we did happily. Can you imagine your daughter riding with just anyone she happens to flag down?

Arriving into Samaipata after an amazingly beautiful drive.

This shot was taken at the Cabanas where we stayed (Thanks to the Masseys). They had lots of open space for the kids to run and this fun swing that occupied much of their time. There were also lots of animals that my kids made friends with including a bird that I am sure was saying, "Mommy" when we were leaving!

Even though it was cooler, the kids enjoyed swimming.  I am not sure if you can see David and the owner of the Cabanas sitting in the background of the photo. He was an interesting man telling us that he was a retired doctor and an inside-out psychologist. He spent a good while explaining what he meant about inside-out sharing that many of our issues stem from fear, worry, or anger and if we can let go of all of those our lives would be much better. It's fun to stop and listen sometimes and Samaipata seemed the perfect place to relax and leave hurry behind for a few days.

The morning of our only full day there, we found this amazing bakery with great bread and coffee which we enjoyed. Then we headed up the crazy, scary drive to visit the nearby ruins. 

I did not realize until we got there that this visit would include a two hour walk, but it ended up being a joy for all of us as we looked for bugs, insects, and interesting foliage as well as viewing the ruins.

Some of the views were awesome!

On the drive back down from the ruins, the brakes on one side of the car froze which made for an extra scary descent. We stopped at this little stream to dip our toes while David checked the car. Of course, I fell in and had to ride the rest of the way with my entire backside wet. 

This is the first garage that we had look at our brakes while I tried to sun dry. Since they could not find the part we needed, we had to find another place in town. It was an adventure and when we finally were able to eat lunch at 2:30 P.M., we inhaled it.

That night the kids enjoyed a soccer game with several of the local children while David and I had coffee discussing and laughing about the events of the day. I asked David several times if he thought the brakes were OK for our drive home and they were.

Some of the other highlights were building a fire and roasting marshmallows, walking around the small town, meeting the nice people, and seeing homes that were not behind gates plus the cool evenings made sleeping pleasant. 

In the midst of busyness it is important to take some time and just be with family. Our kids needed this time where we unplugged from ministry and even technology and just were together. We look forward to going back there.

What kind of family time have you carved out recently? Any ideas to share?