The rest of the Photos

Hello Hello ...

just finishing up the postings with picutres. I have created a small webpage to make viewing the photos easier for you all.

http://rpm-solutions.netfirms.com/Peru/Pictures.html

Just follow this link (also available on the side bar...later) to check out most of the photos I have uploaded so far. Unfortunately the internet here is rather slow and uploading pictures takes a while. I have put them all online in their full size so they should be able to be printed if you so desire. Please do realize the camera is very old and the resolution is not that great.

The following photos are from the Colca Canyon hike, which was seriously one of the higlights so far!
The intrepid hikers, taking a small break!
The view as we began the descent down into the canyon. Absolutely stunnning
The view from the bottom, definitely worth the hike down (however, we are still unsure about the hike up). The sun was so strong that 4 people got pretty severe sunstroke.

Condors ... one ugly bird

Sorry for the late posting, but the internet has been down for a couple of days (as have I with a minor case of "doing too much at once and am now so tired i cannot do anything!")

Anyways... just to nip backwards in time for a quick minute. After we finished the colca canyon we managed to be tourists for a half-day to watch the condors at the top of Colca Canyon. I was certainly worth it! For those of you who are a bit hazy on the condor, it is a gigantic carrion bird that can be described in one word: UGLY. Their physical condition in no way affects their grace and poise when in flight; however, and the thermals of colca canyon provide a perfect place for these birds to lazily circle the skies. I know these pictures are not that clear, but click on them to get the full shot and hopefully you can pick out the condors. There were about 9 flying around when we were there!

Sights of Arequipa!

Sights from the rooftop overloking the santa catalina monastary. The ever present misti volcano in the background
The view of the courtyard in casa dea villa... it is such a beautiful place, however, not really indicative of the rest of Peru
Another view from the rooftops, not the photo i wanted to upload...but it takes so much time that I just decided to leave this one in!
The view of plaza d'armas, the main plaza in Arequipa, with the crazy taxi's careening around the corner.

Arrival in Peru!

Sleeping in the airport in Lima ... from 2am until 6am waiting for my flight to Arequipa

The first sight of the mountains surrounding Arequipa that greeted me as I got off the plane

And my arrival in Casa dea Villa, the hostel that serves as the base of operations for GVI here in Peru.

Arequipa ... Day 2

Met the other 7 volunteers, aged 18-32. They are certainly an interesting bunch, as one of them remarked, “The idealism in this room is almost stifling!” Four are from the UK, one is Brazilian who now lives in England, a married 32 year old American/Korean school teacher from the USA and a self proclaimed nomad.

Four of the volunteers are far enough along in Spanish (either from previous experience or have had enough Spanish lessons) to be working at the local school projects. The remaining four of us are staying around the hotel Casean de Villa, with three hours of Spanish lessons a day + homework and the rest of our time dedicated to becoming acquainted with the city of Arequipa and Peruvian culture.

This morning was spent at the Santa Catalina Monastery (apparently most towns in Peru have a similarly named monastery). This monastery dates back to the 17th century and has survived 2 major earthquakes. The restoration and rebuilding have given the monastery its unique feel and variety of architectural styles, however, the building materials have remained constant: white volcanic rock. The monastery now spans almost 3 city bocks squared! Originally it was fashionable for the second oldest daughters of rich families to be sent here with their dowry as a display of family piety. Unfortunately, this turned the monastery into a bit of a party place for bored noble ladies. This has since changed and there are currently still nuns who reside in the monastery (convent?) and our entrance fees pay for their living as well as restoration and maintenance costs.

I finally settled down to Spanish lessons at about 2;15pm, after an enormous 2-course lunch. Lessons are starting out with a group of 3 students and 1 teacher to cover the same basic ground. I learned a lot … as in a lot about how much I do not know. “No comprende … hablo englais por fabbor?” (I do not understand, English please?). I did learn the verb “to be”, but there are two forms, one for permanence and one for temporary occasions. How this works is kind of complicated. An example is residence. You would say “Yo soya Canadiense” (I am Canadian) which would be permanent. Or you could say “Yo estoy en Canada” (I am in Canada) which would be temporary … and a lie because I am actually in Peru!

The funniest moment of the day had to be when Armando (the hotel owner and our Peruvian host) used the example of virginity to illustrate the complexities of permanent and temporary forms of “I am”. Virginity is (usually) something that is NOT permanent and you would be tempted to use the temporary form of “I am”. However, in this case you would be sending out some pretty interesting signals to the person you are conversing with, as if this is something temporary that you would like to change.

(raised eyebrows … allright, well just come with me here to this dimly lit room … I think I can be of some assistance!)

At this point I was so in shock that I almost fell off my chair … but could not help but laugh as I watched our ever-serious host act this out with a straight face!
Apparently in this situation, as in fact with all instances of personality and description, you would use the permanent form of “I am”. Good to know!

Anyways, that is it for me for today. I need to go home for some food and a nap as we leave for Colca Canyon at 1am tomorrow morning!

Ciao

Arequipa ... Day 1

So, I have arrived safe and sound in Arequipa, Peru!
It was an interesting trip, as I arrived in Lima at 2am, had to sleep in the line up to buy my ticket at 4am for a plane leaving at 6am which did not have a boarding gate assigned until 5am! However, it turned out just fine ... so nothing to worry about.

I arrived at 7:45am in Arequipa to the breathtaking view of the snow covered mountains that surround this town of 800,000 people, which itself is a bit of an oasis in the middle of surrounding desert.
I was picked up in a crazy chrome and faux fur covered Daewoo taxi by Allie, the 24 year old American who is the coordinator of the project here in Peru. Armando, the hotel owner and overseer of Arequipa operations described her to me on the phone as "a tall, blond-haired, noticeable girl." This is rather true as the standard Peruvian appears to be shorter in stature with black hair, dark eyes and dark skin. I brought my soccer shoes but am thinking it is doubtful that anyone will be able to use the size 11.5 shoes!

I was taken to Casadenvila Hotel and Spanish school, which is the home base for GVI (global vision international) volunteers here in Arequipa. Showered ... shaved ... slept ... aaaahh! I had a bit of free time so I went into the main part of town to the main plaza and walked around. There appear to be almost no private vehicles, everything is these Daewoo taxis, buses, armored transports, and army / police vehicles. I stopped for a bite to eat at a nice cafe, just outside of the outrageous tourist priced areas.

At the restaurant I had (Ordering was horrible, I was just randomly saying "si" and hoping what I received was palatable):

- consume con yema (chicken broth soup with egg yolk ... surprisingly good!)
- pollo a la chilindron (chicken fried with peppers + rice + some interesting potatoe type sauce)
- macedonia de frutas (fruit salad)
- fresh pineapple juice

all for 5.50 sol! Which is about $2 CDN including a bit of a tip.

Then I met with the family I will be living with. Cecilia is a Spanish tutor for international volunteers here at the Spanish school, her brother Armando, her mother (who is working out of town) and her grandmother Loura (roll that "R"!!) who is SOO inquisitive about Canada but cannot speak a word of Spanish. However, she heard that I am taking Spanish lessons starting tomorrow and expects great things! Considering I cannot even count past 8 as of yet, I am not so hopeful...

Looking Ahead:

- Tomorrow I start Spanish lessons
- They are interested in my designing and setting up a database to record all the volunteers information and experiences as well as project information to prevent people form reinventing the wheel
- Thursday we leave for Culco Canyon and will spend the following 3 days mountain biking, hiking and horse back riding through the canyon. What an awesome way to start the trip!

In Peru

Hello all!!

It´s 2am and I have arrived safely in Peru...
I have to get myself a flight from Lima to Arequipa in the next couple of hours and try to get in contact with the people I am supposed to meet. Other than that though, i am away to the races (as they say)

Customs was fun, i got to push a big button which randomly decides if you are to be searched or not ... kind of like russian roulette!

thats it for me, more updates to follow

Leaving for Peru!!

Well well...
I am officially booked, signed, sealed, and almost delivered to Peru! I leave monday July 10, and do not return until August 24, almost a full 6 weeks! I am getting excited, though nervous and afraid of forgetting something are also pretty big emotions right now.

If you want to get a hold of me while I am gone, the best way is via e-mail (mithrail@hotmail.com). However, here is also the contact information I have while I am in Peru:

POSTAL ADDRESS:
Casa de Avila, Av. San Martin 116 – Vallecito, Arequipa, Peru

TEL:
(00 51) (054) 213177
(00 502) 5591 7539

CONTACT NAME:
Dom Williams / Armando Espino

Other than that, check back here as the trip progresses, hopefully I will be able to upload pictures. Comments etc are also always appreciated!