Dear All,
1st day – Spent the day in Lima after a safe arrival. We are leaving for our projects tomorrow first thing, so did all of the ‘touristy’ things today.
Lima is really smoggy, but incredibly beautiful. We went for lunch in a posh restaurant and didn’t pay – our host Beto did.
Started off in the Plaza de Armas – saw the most amazing cathedral and watched the service which was in Spanish, then took a tour bus for 5 soles (about £1) up to the massive St. Christopher cross that stands on a mountain over looking the entire city – what an adventure that was!
We had to go through some really poor areas – that was a major eye opener. Up until then, we had seen a commercialised city, but it made us feel like we had really arrived when we saw the ‘real’ Lima.
On the way up the mountain, we saw a police chase which was rather exciting, and then our bus ran over a dog!
The view from the top was mind blowing – the mountain overlooks the entire city, so we had a 360 degrees view, which seemed to go on forever. It’s in a valley so try to imagine 8 million people crammed in between 2 mountains.
We stayed there for about 20 minutes, then returned to the smoggy centre. (I lit my candles mum!)
After a quick look at the city halls and the President’s home, we took a taxi to ‘Miraflores’ and ate some very cheap food!! Had lots of free sangria with dinner so that went down well!
Still a bit jet lagged, so returned to our hostel about 9pm – early start in the morning.
Beto booked us business class tickets for the bus, but I think that means we get a window seat or something!
Going to bed now – really excited about going to our projects – will finally sink in when I realise I’m here and unpacked etc.
Buenos Tardes Amigos!
Been having a bit of trouble with our visa’s – some of us have 30 days, some 60 and some 90 days (I’ve got 90 days) so have been booked onto a later bus while we sort it out.
When we got to the bus station, to our surprise there was a proper coach!! Our ‘business class’ tickets meant leather seats that reclined and curtains at our window, so pretty chuffed all round.
The bus takes about 6/7 hours, but the views are fantastic. The road winds round the coastline that has a desert strip and the scenery is amazing. There were birds of prey everywhere and we saw the most amazing sunset, so 6 hours didn't really feel like 6 hours. We stopped for dinner in a tiny road-side restaurant and had a 3 course menu for about 7 soles (£2.50), but Ruth locked in the bus, so I had dinner with a Peruvian that spoke fluent English – how lucky was that! He’s studying law at university and was going to Chimbote to see his girlfriend and to see a reggae concert. He gave me his email in case I get into any trouble. Everyone is so friendly here it’s really bizarre!
So, Ruth and I arrived in Chimbote 2 hours late and couldn’t find ANYONE who looked remotely who we were looking for – then again, we didn’t have a clue who that person was! 10 minutes later, after walking around Chimbote bus station, all eyes on us and about 30 offers of taxi rides, we were met by our host and taken to our project.
The first thing I realised in the car, was the smell. Imagine living in a fish market that’s right beside a tyre factory – that’s what Chimbote smell like.
When we arrived at the Hogar de Cristo, little Peruvian faces peeped around the corner. ‘Hola Senoritas!’ Although we really wanted to meet them, we were so tired; it was off to bed straight away.
Can’t believe it’s only 3 days that we’ve been in Peru. I’m still trying to work out if that’s a good or bad thing!
Today was spent meeting the staff and the kids, and getting familiarised with our new surroundings.
It was a little strange at first, but the kids soon led the way and we felt great.
We went into town today to explore Chimbote. It’s really not the nicest of places – dirty, smelly and not much to see or do, but it’s nice enough.
The kids in the orphanage are great. One girl Rena, has a baby of 8 months (she’s only 17!) and two other girls, both 15 are pregnant, so it’s pretty tough. We’ve not even started work yet, as they gave us the weekend to settle in, but we were so tired it was off to bed at 7.30pm!
I HATE THE FOOD!!!!! Yesterday’s was ok, and by that I mean semi-edible, but breakfast today was gelatine in a cup – EUGH! Mum send me some nice thing I’M WASTING AWAY!
In fact no, I’m not wasting away, because they are giving us extra big portions and we have to eat it all!
I swear, if someone offered me a year of eggs and liquorice I’d swap it for this! Lunch is soon ……wooohooo!
Ok, it was actually quite nice – fish, onions and some orange vegetable followed by rice, ‘chicken’ and a little bit of peas sauce, but there was loads of it. I suppose it’s better than having too little and it was certainly better than breakfast – cake and yuk in a cup!
Went into town again today and bought a kettle, some bleach and a dustpan and brush and it all added up to about £6.
Sunday is our free day, so just been relaxing a lot and making the most of our free time while we have it.
Ruth and I met with Juana, our ‘boss’, she’s really lovely and told us that they were our family and if we needed anything just to ask.
We got our rota today:
5am get up
5.30am get the girls up, run around the patio (spanish for playground), they do their excersises
6.05am start showers, make sure all girls are ready for school, neat tidy etc
7am breakfast
7.30am take girls to school
8-9.30am time for us to tidy our room etc
9.30-12-30 help with the older girls homework, supervise their duties etc
12-45pm pick girls up from school
1.15pm lunch
2-30-3.30 free time, for our afternoon siesta!
3.30 - 6.30 homework with the girls
6-30-7,.30 out time to do music, art, etc with girls depending on the day
7.30 dinner
8.30 bed!
Ruth and I only look after the young kids, but at night the older ones are really keen to learn English so we do that with them,
It’s a really long day, but it seems to go really quickly.
Today was a lot easier as we are getting to know everyone a lot better, their routines etc.
Also, we found a way round eating the yuk for breakfast! We take coffee and have that instead! And…. Tonight’s dinner was rice (AGAIN) and an egg, so I put brown sauce on it and I’ve never enjoyed brown sauce so much in my entire life!!
Oh!, Ruth and I’s ‘dribble (shower) is now a bit better (we pulled a bit out of it – it’s still freezing though) and tonight I had a shower and the taps got stuck and the plug stopped draining…..we nearly flooded the place! We ran down to get the guard/handyman and it turns out that we were turning the taps the wrong way OOPS!
So, you’ve basically heard my week in a not so sunny Peru. Hope everyone back home is doing good.
Love you all heaps.
Send me letters because it’s the most excitement we have
Take Care
All my love
Jill
xxxxxxxxxx
Dear whoever is reading this,
You wanted to know all about the orphanage. Sight, smells etc., so I thought I’d write and let you know.
It’s a pretty building with an Admin. Part totally separate from the main part (I stay in the Admin. Part). There is a playground in the middle with basketball hoops and a really pretty tree.
Inside the orphanage, you can’t tell you are on a busy road until you step out of the tiny green door.
Behind the back wall, there are lots of factories that give off a lot of smoke and dust, sometimes lots of fine black particles come down like snow, but it’s just dust from the factories.
The girls rooms are basic but very clean (apart from the cockroaches, but they are so common here people just get on with it) and the older girls have a separate study room from the ninas (little ones).
The centre of Chimbote is small and very busy. There is a street I’ve nicknamed ‘Dollar Street’ because it’s just a row of dollar changing shops!
There are so many cars here and they all have the most annoying horns and sirens fitted to them. The cars here toot their horns/sirens 24-7 and it’s no exaggeration that the majority wouldn’t pass their mot’s in the UK!
It’s SO noisy all the time here. I’m used to silence at night, but there is something comforting about hearing the traffic at night.
Also – DOGS! They are everywhere and they don’t stop barking, especially the guard dogs at the orphanage which totally baffle me. They live on the roof during the day and despite stairs leading down, they never ever try to come down even thought they look and sound like they want to eat you.
At 11pm without fail every night they come down and then go back on the roof at 6am – it’s totally weird. The only person they like is Jabier the guard, so I’m sure her hypnotises them and that explains their strange behaviour!
The immediate surrounds to the orphanage are very poor and not very pretty, but I went for a walk around the neighbourhood and found the houses are all painted in bright colours and the area is kept very clean. I even found a tiny beach where there is a break in the factories along the front. It’s quite dirty, but just having the fresh sea air is a nice change.
Just now it’s coming into spring, so the mist is pretty thick and it’s raining slightly, although it’s not cold. When the sun does come through, usually in the afternoon, it’s hot, but not too hot and the breeze off the sea is nice and cooling.
There’s a nice little island called Isla Blanca that is only about 30 mins on a boat that I hope to get too soon. There aren’t many places to go for walks around the area, so it would be nice to go for a little adventure on an island!
The food has got a little better, or I’m getting used to it…!! We had pasta and rice (surprise, surprise) with a tasty sauce. The corn on the cob is called Choclo over here. It’s that same as home apart from it’s a LOT bigger.
I’m settling in very well and starting to really enjoy myself. The girls are all a lot more approachable, especially as my Spanish gets better.
I’ll try and write a dear all letter once or twice a month, but it would be nice to hear more news from home as well.
Hope everyone is well.
Lots and lots of love,
Jill.
Dear All,
What an eventful few days I’ve been having!!
Firstly, we have a new boss called Julia and she decided that the girls didn’t get up early enough, so implemented a 5am wake up, followed by a 15 minute run around the patio (Spanish for playground) -–although the running is only for the girls thankfully! And then, a nice cold shower.
This routine was carried out for about 5 days and then Ruth and I point blank refused to continue, because we were far too tired. So, now the girls only have to get up 15 minutes earlier.
Julia is living in the orphanage for a few weeks until she finds somewhere else, so we have a ‘neighbour’ which is very strange after having the entire Admin. Block to ourselves for so long.
She does however provide us with an unlimited supply of amusement (most of it at her expense). She comes out with phrases in English such as ‘’I VANT TO CLEEAAN!’ said in an incredibly high pitch voice and sounding somewhat like Dracula!
So anyway, tonight we had an English class with the educadoras (it was actually the 2nd one of the day as we are using the older girls as guinea pigs). After a game of alphabet bingo, Ruth went to our room to get a prize for Ines and Violetta- the two winners and Ruth, being Ruth, locked the key in our room – and where was the spare key? IN OUR ROOM ALSO!!
So, having no way of getting in and the windows locked, the only option was climbing through a tiny window in the store cupboard that is joined onto our bathroom.
Vilma went to fetch a ladder while Ruth and I tied an old curtain and some pairs of jeans together to make a rather fairy-tale like rope suitable for absailing through the little window and down the bathroom wall.
Vilma returned with the most rickety ladders I’ve ever seen – more like tow tree branches nailed together with rusty bits of metal and some planks slotted in.
Ruth proceeded to climb these ‘ladders’ with the aid of Vilma and I who were in hysterics by this point. She crammed herself into a tiny space at the top of the shelves in the cupboard, and with the help of her yoga, manipulated her body through the window and down our ‘rope’. With a thud and a cry of glee, she was in and our door was open once again.
So, after yet another Laurel and Hardy situation as they’ve now become known as, we celebrated with a bozcocho and a mocha made from coffee (which I now have a vast amount of – thank you!), chocolate powder and powdered milk – yummy!
We ARE getting another key cut tomorrow as it is now the 4th time that (Ruth) has locked us out in 7 weeks – which averages out as once a fortnight!
Last night Hogar housed the ‘Gran Picarone,’ which is a typical Peruvian sweet. Sort of deep fried doughballs coated in honey.
Entry was 1 sole and included a plate of 4 picarones. If you wanted more, it was 1 sole. 3 plates of them later, I was starting to feel rather sick, but I still managed to force down some dinner!
In the night, Ruth and I went to bed. I woke up at about 11.30pm to the sound of crashing and banging. I looked up and there was Ruth standing totally petrified and she whispered, ‘’I’m soooo scared’. Me being half-asleep had no idea what she was talking about and I just murmured ‘Yeah, me too’.
After a few minutes I finally cottoned onto the fact we thought there was a burglar! We were told earlier that we shouldn’t come out of our room after 12pm, because Hogar has been broken into before and it could be dangerous.
So, Ruth stood by the door perfectly still and I lay in my bed listening to what sounded like someone coming in the windows and opening doors. I then decided that we were safe enough and I went back to sleep pretending nothing was happening!!
We found out in the morning, that it was just Julia moving around furniture – perhaps she was ‘cleeaning!
I’m actually really glad we have Julia as our boss now – she understands that we work the longest days out of everyone here and has told us we can have a siesta after lunch if we feel we need one, which is lovely to know.
Ruth and I have actually worked 2 full weeks now without any days off, because we are going to visit Huaraz and Caraz this weekend.
We are getting the night bus up on Thursday from Chimbote to Huaraz and getting the night bus back on Saturday so we will be back early Sunday morning ready to start work again.
Huaraz is at 3097m above sea level and Caraz is 2270m, so it will be our first encounter of Andean life here in Peru. We plan to trek for a little bit to the Laguna Churup, which is a lake fed by glacial melt-off, with a view of the Churup rising 18,000 feet in the distance. Whether we get round to doing this is another story!
Anyway, enough for now, I’m off to bed.
More from Ruth and Jill’s sticky pickle situations later!
We’ve just returned from Huaraz and Caraz after having a lovely, relaxing and enjoyable holiday.
We got into Huaraz at 5am on Friday morning and climbed up to the cross on the mountain to watch the sunrise. We ate a picnic breakfast at 6am of bread rolls and oranges with a fantastic view of the city covered in the early sunlight.
The hostel we stayed in had HOT WATER!! Which was such a treat, and an amazing terrace view of Huascaran – Peru’s biggest peak (6768m), as well as equally amazing views of the other Cordillera Blanca’s – snow capped peaks.
We started off doing the Pitec trek, but were informed it wasn’t something you could do in a day, so a nice stroll back down the mountain through Campesino (peasants’ villages), took us out at the Rio Quilcay, where we had a lovely siesta in the mid-day sun. We read our books whilst dangling our feet in the river.
That night, we decided to be gringos and go to a travel bar – our first bar in 2 months!! Randomly, I met a man from …..PAISLEY.
Being in South America, and meeting someone from the same town as you, I thought is pretty amazing, but he wasn’t at all surprised by it, so I didn’t talk to him much. He was a 5* backpacker, staying in fancy hotels etc. Not like us! We took the cheapest bus to Huaraz (20 soles =£5). It was a night bus (not recommended), with a company that owns combis, When in Peru, do as the Peruvians.
On Saturday, we visited the Laguna Chinancocha in the ‘Parque Nacional’, which was stunning. An isolated crystal clear, blue laguna over 3,300 m high. We sat with our feet cooling in the water and lunched on ‘Picante de Cuy con Papas’ (Spicy guinea pig with potatoes) and ‘Choclo con queso’ (Corn on the Cob with cheese). It was yummy!
My cuy came with its leg still attached, which was a nice sight, but despite the limb, it was rather tasty.
The road back down snaked the mountain providing us with breath-taking views of Andean villages and mountains in the distance.
Only a few short days, we managed to get, but it’s lovely to know that such beauty is only 8 hours away.
People come to Peru purely to visit and trek in the Huaraz are, and we are fortunate enough to have it on our doorstep.
On the way back to Chimbote, we took a day bus via the Canon del Pato, which is supposedly bigger than the Grand Canyon. The entire journey was on a dirt track (9 hours) and some of it seemed no better than a goat trail, but the scenery was worth it.
Coming over the mountains and into the coastal desert was a nice cross-section and proved to me in my head that I actually was 3000m above sea level!
At one point, our bus was crossing a bridge with the river hundreds of feet below, when one of the wooden planks broke.
A man ran out and appeared with a spare plank from the boot – it must be a common occurrence, and our bus drove on slowly, balancing on this one plank!
Then, that plank also snapped. So, a sharp acceleration and a bit of a push from behind and we were back on track once again the joys of Peruvian transport!
Back in Hogar once again feeling like we need another holiday. I’ve finally got to grips with the fact that I’m going to be tired for a year, although Ruth and I have learned to laugh about it.
Today, we decided we wished we worked in an orphanage that had no kids, how joyful that would be!
They were being brats today, but we got out the guitar and had a few rounds of Old McDonald and all was fine.
That’s pretty much all my news for now. Hope all is well.
Love
Jill
xxxxxxxxxx
Dear All,
Here we are again folks. I've finally got a minute to put pen to paper. I'm sitting with a few of the girls just now, while they colour pictures for Christmas.
Firstly, a BIG THANK YOU! To everyone who has sent resources out. It's been fantastic actually having things to occupy the girls with especially with Christmas being so soon.
We've been making all sorts of things with the girls – from little bags, to a ‘New Age' nativity scene and teaching them Christmas songs in English. And, not only that, we've had a visit from Luke (our Project Trust desk officer) and been on our fist visa run! Where to start?
Without the extreme kindness of too many people to mention, we wouldn't have half of our activities up and running.
First of all we have Advent, so to ‘celebrate', we have made little ‘bolista's (little bags). Each girl has a day for example, the 1 st of December where they get to open their bag and inside we are going to put a little chocolate and part of the Nativity story for them to read out.
To go along with each day, we've also made with the girls, the figures of Mary and Joseph (Maria and Jose) , 3 kings, 2 shepherds, the Angel Gabriel and not forgetting the baby Jesus.
Each day when the bag gets opened and the corresponding part of the Nativity is read, the figures move around the wall.
Maria and Jose over the Nativity period come from Nazareth and end up in Bethlehem on Christmas day, with the kings coming from a different direction. It all looks rather exciting- the kids have decorated the figures really well using ribbons and shiny material. I can't wait until the 1 st of December when we can start it all with them!
Christmas is a bit different in Peru, they celebrate on December 24 th by having a late meal and opening presents at midnight (a bit like our house parentals). But Ruth and I are going to give them their Christmas packets on the 25 th , as from about 11pm on Christmas Eve until 1pm on Christmas Day, it's just going to be Ruth and I.
Julia has given us permission to get the girls up later and have a morning of fun and games with them.
Today, I told them the story of Santa Claus – they had no clue! They've all got really excited now, even the older girls believe the story, which is quite nice to know.
Not only have we Christmas to get ready for , we're moving house on December 15 th ! How exciting!!
When the nuns come, they want our room and the entire Admin. Block to themselves, so Ruth and I are moving into the same block as the girls……..!!!
Our new room is joined (sort of) to the kitchen, which is thankfully a little bit away from the girls dorms, but unfortunately we won't have our own bathroom and the room isn't half as nice as the one we have just now, although it is bigger. I'm looking forward to a change and we get to paint it!!
Actually, we have to paint the whole of the Hogar for the nuns coming – so it really is non-stop just now. Not that I'm complaining – it's all rather exciting, plus we get a new, bigger room!
It's hard to believe with all these activities keeping me occupied, that I'm just back from visa run 1/holiday in…. ECQUADOR!
I won't bore you with border crossing details, but we ended up in a lovely little valley called Vilcabamba, staying in a European-run hostel call izhcayluma. It really was the place of dreams.
Nestled into the lush, green valley, and set in a large area, we were in a private cabin at the edge of the gardens.
It was like a little dolls house, with hammocks on our decking area, a flower lined path leading up to the pool, bar and restaurant which had panoramic views of the valley and all for $7 a night! That included breakfast and HOT WATER!!
As there was 7 of us (we met up with the other volunteers from Trujillo and Cajamarca), it was the perfect place for us to get away from it all. No kids, no cars and no responsibilities – Nada!
On our 2nd day, we went for a daylong horse trek into the Podocarpus National Park. I've never seen an area so in depth before, we actually rode around the entire valley, which had mind-blowing views.
The trip included a half hour guided walk, which actually turned into a 2 hour trek in which we passed through 2 water-falls – it was stunning.
As we hired a local guide and not a ‘gringo', there was no holding back. Off we went with no riding hats and no experience, with a man very much like Indiana Jones!
Nearing the end of our day, our legs were sore and coming down isn't half as much fun as going up. Especially as my horse was a speed-loving extremist. At one point, he decided to take a running jump –downhill, catapulting me over his neck with my left leg swinging upside down and clinging onto his neck with one foot in the stirrup.
It was rather sore, but extremely funny and I wasn't letting that put me off!
Back on the straight, we took off again crossing several rivers and seeing things people dream about.
Of course, by the time we returned to the hostel (it was really more like an hotel), we were all just about crippled, but it was worth it.
The next day was spent relaxing in the sun and rejoicing in the nights when rain fell and thunder and lighting electrified the sky – it really was a perfect holiday.
On the way home, we stopped in Chiclayo, a city about 6 hours North of us, where we stayed a night with Laura and Mannie as Shan, Vicky and Fiona had to return to Cajamarca.
We visited the biggest witchcraft market in South America and I went to a witch doctor for some medicine as I've had a bad stomach for a few weeks now. It was probably just some herbal tea mix, but it seems to be doing the job.
Anyway, I'm going to end this letter on a big thank you to everyone who has sent things, not only for me, but also for the children. That includes the games, the arts and crafts, the good wishes and your time.
Also a big thank you to everyone who has sent gifts for our girls at Christmas.
The next letter will probably be after Christmas and New Year, so I'll send my best wishes for now.
Love as always
Jill
xxxxxx
P.S. I'm sorry for not sending personal letters, I'm just so short of time (bad excuse), but I promise to be in touch soon.
xxx
Hello all,
By now the dear all letter about christmas should have arrived, along with the photos, so I thought Id send a dear all email about new year because Im too busy to write and go to the post office!
All I have to say is new year 2003-2004 was the best EVER!! I cant think of any other way to spend new year, with friends old and new on the beach dancing by a fire all night, in PERU! At the start of the night we were at our friend Luis{s house and
there we celebrated new year YOUR time with some sangria, and we stayed there until about 1am after watching all the dolls in the streets being burned. Its quite like Guy Fawks night here, except they make giant dolls of themselves to burn the "old them" in time for new year, it was all quite spectacular as Peruvians being Peruvians doused them all in Petrol before burning them! Ruth, Luis, Tito (luis{s brother) and I then got a taxi to Huanchaco which is quite close to his house, wihch was like a fairground ride as it was pitchblack and we were trying to avoid burning dolls in the middle of the road!
When we got there we met up on the beach with all the other girls in Northern Peru and lots of Luis and Titos friends, as well as lots of other random people, and partyed all night until 8am when the sun was up.
It was such a lovely way to spend new year, especially as we got to celebrate twice!
Just now we are extremely tired as we are 2 Señoritas missing - Vilma has left, and Violetta is on holiday just now, so Ruth and I are covering all of her night shifts, as well as working all day, so we are really tired. Although when she gets back it should go back to normalish, except from now on we will have 4 night shifts a week, 2 each, but on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th we managed to convince Julia to give us a "present" of 3 days holiday which we are going to spend in the Pyramid hostel on the beach in Chiclayo - perfecto! Today it is boiling, but Ive got a mountain of washing to do, and then we are going to go to the beach to relax, but of course its not all sunbathing as I have to work tonight! The joys of being a Project Trust volunteer I suppose :D
Im also going to add onto the end of this email a HUGE thank you to everyone who sent out presents either for me, the girls, or both, and also to everyone at Mums school who sent out the money for us to start out library, its up and running just now and weve managed to convince 3 bookshops to donate a book or 2 each month! Thats all for now folks, thank you for everyone, take care and Happy New Year (a bit late but im on Peruvian time...!)
Lots and lots of love
Jill xxxx
Sat, 06 Mar 2004
Dear all,
Well, that’s 18 long, restful, troublesome days of holiday over. Tomorrow it is back to work, with the next “holiday” in June. Ruth and I have decided not to take holidays every month but to take a block of 1 month at the end of our year to travel.
The past 18 days (2 in Chile to renew our visas) have not gone as planned, but then again this is Peru and what does? We had a really good itinerary planned out - Chile, Arequipa, Nazca, Ica, Huancayo - until the bus strike hit Peru and halted all transport for over 2 weeks.
It all started in Chile - a dramatic contrast from Peru. Obviously a rich country, just 10minutes over the border you could tell the difference, from little things like the streetlights and layout. We found a lovely little hostel run by an ex-pat from New Zealand, who gave us a 50% discount when we played up the “volunteer” cards - plus it was all you can eat breakfast - its amazing what you can force down when it’s free! We drank lots of lovely cheap Chilean wine, and almost died crying when we went into the local SUPERMARKET! Yes, supermarket with aisles and trollies, not like our local market of donkeys and chickens! The 4 of us ran about like little kids totally amazed by the smallest things, its was the exact double of Safeway, which made us over-excited and hysterical in laughter, I’m sure they were glad to see the back of us. After a day at the beach we crossed back over the border and headed up to Arequipa on the cheapest bus we could find. Not known to us that the company we were using was actually part of an international clothes smuggling posse, that ended up in the police and customs raiding our bus and taking TRUCK loads of contraband clothes from the passengers involved. It was hidden EVERYWHERE, under the seats, in the headrests, packed into any spare space possible. It was some experience, and we have since made a pact NOT to travel with “Aragon” when one of the policemen looked at us and simple asked “WHY did you get on this bus?”...oops We eventually arrived in Arequipa and to our shock there was even more clothes hauled from the bus, god only knows where they hid it all - we made our exit quickly and quietly!
Arequipa at 5.30am really is the prettiest time to see it. The air was cold and crisp and the 3 volcanoes guarding the city stood proud above the sky-line. Arequipa is a gorgeous colonial city about 2600m above sea-level with plenty of things to see and do to keep us occupied. We visited museums and cathedrals, convents and mansions, not to mention our 2 day excursion to the worlds 2nd deepest canyon - Cañon del Colca which was out of this world.
The valley was too big to describe - the umpteen photos that I took wont do it any justice - with a violently fast flowing river at its base, and the mountains were all the colours of green you can imagine, with snow-capped peaks sitting in the clouds. We managed to get a deal which meant we were staying in a 3* hotel for only $5 more than the convention tour, plus we went to a rarely visited part of the canyon to see how life there really is. On the road going in there were herds of llamas and vicuñas grazing, and Ruth had a shot at her new favourite sport “extreme llama photography”, not being much more successful than the past, which ended up with her being spat at by a rather angry llama - not photogenic I presume!
The afternoon we arrived, we went for a lovely walk over the canyon on a suspension bridge, to the other side where we met a totally different way of life. No cars just donkeys, no industrial factories, just little farms with people getting by, keeping themselves to there selves. Our guide was lovely and took us up the canyon wall to see little visited Inca Ruins, where one solo family still lived in isolation but in the most peaceful place in this world. We were a little worn out as walking at 4000m above sea-level takes it out of you, so we strolled down to thermal baths that are heated by one of several volcanoes surrounding the canyon. We stayed there an hour or so until nightfall, and walked back up to the hotel in the dark with a view of the canyon lit by fairy lights from afar.
The next day we went to the “tourist” part of the canyon to look for condors. It’s all in your luck, and we managed to spot 2, but from a distance they just looked like some sparrows! A short walk and a bite of lunch later, and we were back on the road to Arequipa, a million miles away from life in the canyon.
So, the strike still being on, we amused ourselves with day trips to pretty places in the countryside of Arequipa, and night trips to the local bars, making sure not to waste a second of our precious time. Soon 2 weeks passed and Arequipa was becoming a little tiresome. We decided to take a bus to Cusco as we had heard the road wasn’t too bad with trouble. However, when we got aboard the bus we were informed by an official that buses had returned having had stones thrown at them and covered in graffiti and if the journey was to go ahead it was at our expense. We got off and took a flight.
Arriving in Cusco was strange. Whenever anyone goes to Peru the first question is “did you go to Cusco?” as it is supposed to be one of the most interesting cities here. We were a bit taken aback at first with its contrast. This is a proper Andean town - a different world from Latin America that we live in on the coast. Its 3800m above sea-level and that takes your breath away literally, but just being surrounded by lush green mountains and actually
having rain was really special for me. Unfortunately, we only ended up having 2 days in Cusco as our rep in
Lima called to let us know the strike was over and Ruth and I, despite wanting to stay, knew the right thing to do was to go back. Goodbye Cusco and see you soon, we left to a heavy thunder and lightning storm, and we knew we would definitely be coming back to explore the enchanting city.
So now we are in Lima waiting to go back to Chimbote. Its strange for us, we are staying in the same hostel that we stayed in when we first arrived in Peru, although it seems to have expanded and is now full of lots of crazy old people. There is the senile man who was chatting away to Ruth and I, when he outbursted (in English) “I feel like a monkey - All around the place” The crazy man who jibbers away to himself really fast, then slows his pace right down to the speed of a snail, and the 2 hyper old ladies who always seem to be bouncing around the place not really
doing much...
Yesterday we went to the same fruit stall that we bought a banana from on our first day when we didn’t have any Spanish or a clue about the prices. We pretended not to speak Spanish and it ended up with the woman trying to charge us 1 sole for 4 little bananas, then out came the perfect Spanish “no no no thats far too expensive, its 40c
for 4 bananas Señora” the look of shock on her face and a little shame sent Ruth and I running off giggling!
So in the end we didn’t get to do half of what we had planned, but then we got 2 wonderful weeks in Arequipa and a few short days in Cusco, so who can complain? I’m really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I miss the girls like crazy and I cant wait to see their little faces when we come home. I think the fact that we have decided to take a block of 1 month to travel at the end, instead of 1 week every month is much better for us as we get to fully concentrate on our time left in the Hogar, after all its only 5 months now.. and look how quickly the past 6 have gone...
I hope all is well back home, get in touch and let me know your news. There shall be lots of photographs coming your way soon, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them!
Love as always
Jill xx
Dear All,
I'm sorry Ive not been in touch for so long, we have been EXTRA busy and Ive finally managed to grab a moment of time - holiday time - to get in touch and let you all know how I am.
Things here in Chimbote couldn´t be better just now, its infact the best it has been sinse we have got here and we are appreciating it fully. So, I think the last news about the work situation was that everyone had left and Ruth and I were working ourselves silly, then one day, about 2 months ago we got a new "Educadora" and Psychologist which made things a lot better. For the first few weeks there was talk of new directors coming, a couple, but we waited and waited and nothing happened until one day, they just turned up!
So that was all about 1 month ago and things have never been so good. The new "mum" is called Rosa - a little short woman who´s lovely and very "mum like" - a bit strict when she has to be, but all in all a lovely woman who is settling in well. Manuel is the new "dad" who is a jolly fat man who is always laughing and joking with everyone but sort of leaves everything to Rosa to do, as its quite obvious she is the boss of the relationship as well as Hogar! And not only that, they have also brought their 15 year old son - Eduard - so we have got a proper little family and the girls have got an older brother to play with which is really good for them. Everything just now in Hogar feels like a real family atmosphere, Rosa is so open and welcoming, the girls behavior, not to mention attention has rocketed and there is generally a really nice feel to hogar, the first time we´ve experienced it sinse we´ve arrived.
Things in Hogar have been getting a bit like a zoo recently... literally! First of all Ruth and I decided we wanted some fish to make our room more exciting... so we bough fish, but couldnt afford a fish tank, so they are living in a cut out 2ltr water bottle...along with the dead cockroaches that seem to fall in and drown when we´re not looking. Then Erika found a baby bird that had flown into Hogar, it was a litte shocked but nothing serious, but Erika decided she wanted to keep this baby bird as a pet... so chopped off a big hunk of its feathers to stop it from flying away... fair enough.
Then its back to Ruth and I, and I think this one takes the biscuit... we´ve bought KITTENS!! They are the sweetest little things you have ever seen, someone overheard us talking and said they had 2 kittens for sale, and Rosa was fine with it, so we are now the proud owner of "Huella" which means "footprints" who is 2 months old and blondish in colour, and his sister "currently un-named" who is chocolate brown and a little bit naughty!
So where now... oh, yes. Our football team! A few weeks ago Ruth and I came away to huaraz for 3 days to relax etc, and we ended up meeting Sport Ancash, a football team who are mostly from Lima but play in Huaraz, and are actually really good players. That was about a month ago now, and we are all really good friends, with Ruth and I coming up to visit when we can, watching their games etc - infact Im currently in Huaraz just now visiting!
Time seems to be flying by, faster then we can say BOO, its all a bit scary to be honest. In less than 7 weeks times I´ll be back in good old Scotland... so I guess its
See you all soon...
Lots of love
Jill xxxx
Dear All,
Well, as you all know Ruth and I ran away and escaped to the mountains. We are loving it here, the sun shines in the day, and at night its not too cold (about 8oC), we are relaxing, going out, partying, and basically living it up for the next 2 weeks before we come home.
Leaving Hogar was hard, there was lots and LOTS of tears from ruth and I as well as the girls, but everything has to have an end and we honestly feel like it was the right time to leave. The new co-ordinators came, the staffing problems were solved, and after 10 months of working as "workers" rather than volonteers, we found it hard settling in to the volonteer routine and it felt right to leave and get ourselves sorted out before heading home.
We have some lovely memories - we recorded the each and every one of the girls saying goodbye to ourselves, and they gave us a LOT of pictures and letters, and we left them a photo of themselves mounted onto a bit of A4 card with a message from us to them to why they are induvisually special to us, with a little photo of ruth and I at the bottom
Our time in the orphanage was amazing, there is no words to describe just how happy and settled we felt there, it really was home away from home. Having 30 little sisters is definetly an experience and makes me grateful for being an only child... but I do hope that one day I might get the chance to visit them. For 10 months we have seen 2 babies come into the world, seen a little girl grow into a school going child and made a lot of new and important friends. Ive most definetly had an experience that I will never forget and dont worry... Ill bore you with ALL the stories when I get back...not to mention the photos!
So not long now and I cant wait to come home - although my thoughts are still on coming back out some time in the future, I guess when you spend so long in one place you leave part of you behind...
Love as Always
Jill xxxx