Peru: Sickness, mountains, going underground and meeting Alex!

Hello everyone!

It has been a couple weeks since we left Huanchaco and since then we've been on the move.  First we bused to Huaraz, which we were very excited to experience. It is a high altitude town just under the Cordillera Blanca mountain range which boasts Huarascan, the fourth highest peak in all of the Andes at 22,204 ft. Unfortunately, the combination of spending so much time with little kids in Huanchaco and then going quickly up to elevation sent us both into a downward spiral of health.  Sore throats, coughs, congestion, aches and pains bothered us for several days while we walked around the town minimally, drank buckets of tea and rested in the hostel.

Huaraz central square statue with a pigeon hat

Sunset from hostel rooftop

While we didn't get to do the trekking that we wanted to do in the Huaraz area, we did manage to get on a day trip out to Chavin de Huantar, a very impressive pre-Incan ruin site of the Chavin culture. We got to go down inside the tunnels of one of the buildings which was really cool. Despite our wheezy chests climbing into and out of the tunnels we were impressed and glad we finally got out of the town to see some of the surrounding area.

Lake on the way to Chavin

Most intact corner of a building at Chavin

Down and inside we go!

Anne in the tunnels

El Lanzon de Chavin, carved column of stone illuminated in the underground tunnels of Chavin

Cabeza Clava at Chavin

After Huaraz we left for Lima in order to meet up with our sister Alex! She got a few weeks off work and we've been coordinating with her for months trying to figure out our collective travel plans. Finally the time was here, we met Alex just after breakfast and caught a bus across town (a long way from where we stayed in Miraflores) to the Plaza Mayor. There are some really impressive churches and government building around the square, but we decided on the Iglesia de San Francisco just outside the square where we'd read that we could go down into the catacombs.  It was a really wild experience, thousands of people had been interred in these catacombs and the Franciscans as well as archeologists had sorted and organized the bones so that we were able to see piles and piles of femurs and skulls. Anne was in heaven. Later that night we headed down to the beach in Miraflores to watch surfers and catch the sunset.

Presidential palace in Lima

Church door knocker

Cool sculpture in Miraflores Lima

Chillin on the coast for sunset, watching the surfers

The next day we popped down to Barranco, which is a pretty artsy and fun neighborhood of Lima. We walked around, checking out the architecture, ocean views, and finished it off with delicious burritos in the square.  We had heard from so many people that Lima wasn't worth our time, but we actually had a very interesting and nice couple days.

Barranco stationary trolley

View of Lima coast from Barranco

Now a group of 3, we headed from Lima to Cusco (our first flight since September so we could avoid the 20 hr bus ride over the mountains). With sickness still with both Anne and I we were a bit nervous about going back to elevation but excited to see Cusco, the sacred valley, and Machu Picchu.

Peru: A Farewell to Milagro School

Today we are taking a night bus to Huaraz tonight, and we're excited to see the highlands of Peru! But we are very sad to say farewell to Huanchaco and the school. 

And because pictures say more than words. . .

Anne helping Brandon write his letter to Santa. He wants a big classroom for the school. . . and a ball!

Brandon's drawing

Espejo's beautful letter to Santa 

Everyone is being VERY good and waiting their turn to talk to Satna Claus

Santa hearing what the kiddos want for Christmas

Natalie is a little shy for Santa

Santa Claus reading Brandon's letter

School photo

All the Milagro School volunteers

Santa, Jaime, and all of Santa's twins that Jaime made!

This was our last day of school. What an AMAZING day, and beautiful experience we had. 

Peru: Escuela Milagro and Learning to Surf in Huanchaco

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's been a while since we've posted because we've been living a life that's a little less like traveling and a little more like normal living. We came to Huanchaco, a beautiful fishing and surfing  village just outside of  Trujillo, to volunteer at the Milagro school.

We got settled into a little apartment that is attached to a family's complex so it's in some ways like a homestay (in that they sometimes cook us food and hang our laundry) except we have our own entrance, kitchen, and bathroom.  We can't tell you how nice it was to unpack our backpacks and stock up on food to cook for ourselves!

View from our front door

The apartment

Huanchaco at sunset from our door.

The church at night

The busses here are not made for people our size...

 We spend a few hours a day at the Milagro School with kids doing craft projects, teaching them English in more traditional styles and also by making up fun competitive games (these kids LOVE competitions!). Outside of school we've mostly been relaxing on the beach and learning to surf (when we haven't been fighting stomach issues). We've had 3 lessons and a few practices and Ryan is getting the hang of it-- Anne still needs help. We can't wait until we're back in San Diego to show off our skills!

 

Ryan getting it

The school that we're helping out at is in Cerrito de la Virgen, just outside of Huanchaco.This little community was set up by the Peruvian government in after El Niño displaced thousands of people in this region 12 years ago. Most of the families don't have electricity or running water and they don't own their land. The school was established by a Swedish woman named Coco who had gotten fed up with working for other volunteer organizations and kind of serendipitously found the property.

The school

Coco (founder of Escuela Milagro) with some of her kids

The idea is basically to offer a place where these kids can be kids and learn a little basic English. They all go to a regular public school as well, this is just extra-curricular learning and fun time. It started off a little overwhelming for us because it is volunteer-run and it is difficult to keep the kids under control when you don't have any rapport with them. After a few days however we got more incorporated into the planning and a better sense for the kids. It has gotten much more manageable and has been a really great experience. 

 

Playing with the kids outside

Teaching Christmas songs

 

We are currently raising funds for the families' Christmas including a recent casino night where Ryan dealt blackjack and Anne ran a beerpong table. This evening we're going to be doing a clothes give-away in the community and Ryan, as the only volunteer with a beard, will have the pleasure of wearing the full Santa outfit and hearing what the kids want for Christmas...

 

Surfers at sunset

 

These "Caballitos de Totoro" are the traditional fishing rafts that the locals still use.

 

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and we missed you all as we had pie with some other American travelers and then a big bowl of pasta at a restaurant. We are thankful for the opportunity we have to do this trip and thankful for all of our friends and family who support us and who we love. As we travel we find it easier than ever to understand the things that so often people in North America take for granted but we should be incredibly thankful for.

 

With lots of love,

R & A