Weekend in Huaraz

         Well, I can now check "visiting a glacier" off my bucket list.  This past weekend, I got to spend three days taking in some incredible Andean scenery in Peru's Cordillera Blanca with two of my fellow volunteers, Elizabeth and Lee.
         After an exhausting nine hour bus journey from Trujillo, we spent our first morning in Huaraz just exploring the city and figuring out our plans for the next couple of days.  We decided to spend the afternoon and evening in Yungay, a small mountain town which had to be entirely rebuilt after being destroyed by a giant earthquake that hit the town in June of 1970.  Apparently, when the earthquake hit, the ground pretty much opened up and instantly swallowed virtually all of the town's 26,000 inhabitants.  The tragedy's only survivors were some children who happened to be at a circus in the outskirts of town when the rest of the population disappeared.  We visited the "Campo Santo" memorial where old Yungay used to stand and enjoyed some ice cream and a military parade in new Yungay, about 2km away.

   

The remains of a bus sticking out of the ground where

the town of Yungay was buried.

A Jesus statue with outstretched arms over

the many victims of the 1970 earthquake

 

Elizabeth and me in the Plaza de Armas

in new Yungay

         We spent our second day at the Llanganuco lakes, three beautiful lakes in a canyon surrounded by the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. We did some light hiking, played with some donkeys and cattle, and enjoyed a picnic at the waterfront. Llanganuco is supposed to be a great spot from which to view the peak of Huascaran, the tallest mountain in Peru, but unfortunately the clouds were hanging pretty low the day we were there, so we couldn't really differentiate between the white clouds and the white snow cap. But, at least we knew we were close.

         On our last day of the trip, we went on a 10 hour tour with the Pastoruri glacier as our ultimate destination. The "short" hike to the base of the glacier ended up being much longer and more difficult than we imagined, mostly due to the high altitude (17,000 ft.), which caused our heads and lungs to suffer a bit, despite having taken altitude sickness pills and dranken plenty of coca tea. The view from the top of the mountain/base of the glacier was (literally) breathtaking, and definitely made the hike up worth it, especially since the glacier is currently melting at a very fast rate, and will supposedly be entirely gone within four years due to the "calentamiento mundial" (global warming).   Our bus stopped to visit several sites on the way to Pastoruri, including the Peruvian fountain of youth, "the lagoon of seven colors," a rock with some cave paintings dating back to 10,000 B.C., and a stop to see some puya plants, a special tree that only grows in  Peruvian soil and only between 3,400 and 4,200 meters above sea level.
        It was so nice to get out of flat, polluted Trujillo for a few days of fresh mountain air, but I think my body is glad to be back at sea level, not to mention, it always feels good to come home to the albergue. 

sunset over Huaraz

Lee and me in front of a Puya tree

the rock with the 12,000 year old graffiti

half-way up Pastoruri...

Me touching my first glacier

the melting glacier

Pastoruri

Changes...

        Coming home to the albergue after my trip through southern Peru and Bolivia was a bittersweet ordeal.  I was sad that such a perftect vacation was coming to an end and that Steve was going to have to leave soon to go home to the States; but, at the same time, I was looking forward to getting back to work and seeing all the kids again, and was really excited for Steve to finally meet everyone at the albergue. 

        Before his flight back, Steve spent three days hanging out with me in Trujillo and volunteering at the albergue, doing maintenance work in the mornings, then helping out with joyeria (jewelry-making) and in my tutoria (tutoring) group in the afternoons.  Edwin, Abel, and Italo really seemed to enjoy having him there to help them with their homework, and they showed their gratitude by showering him with hugs and gifts (in the form of drawings) on his last day. 

Italo giving Steve the picture he made him.   

It was funny because the drawing started out with a 

bunch of little hearts on it, but then Italo must have decided

hearts weren't manly enough or something, so he

crossed them all out before letting Steve see it.

Steve with Edwin and Abel

         Since getting back at the beginning of June, many changes have taken place at the albergue.  For starters, a lot of people are leaving.  The day before I got back from my trip, Susanna, one of my fellow volunteers, who was not scheduled to fly back to the U.S. until July, ended up having to pick up and leave early, due to a family emergency.   To be honest, I didn't really believe the other volunteers when they told me she'd left for good first thing the morning I arrived.  I'd heard stories before about huge pranks the people here have played on past volunteers, so I figured they were probably just joking with me, perhaps trying to get me back for previous pranks I'd pulled on them.  Susanna had also been one of my roommates, and I don't think it really hit me that she was gone until I walked into our apartment and saw her empty bedroom across from mine.  Although I was really sad that I never got to tell her good-bye and that I missed the last-minute despedida (a formal going away ceremony) that everyone at the albergue threw for her before she left, I was glad that she was able to go be there for her family when they needed her.   

        Only a few days later, we had to say good-bye to two other long-term volunteers, John and Lori.  For their despedida, Elizabeth, Courtney, Becca, and I performed a choreographed rendition of  "Say a Little Prayer for Me," inspired by the television series "Glee."  As is custom at albergue despedidas, many kind words were spoken by staff members, and the kids performed some cute songs and dances.  Overall, it was a really beautiful, albeit tear-filled, ceremony.  

John and Lori with Brigitte and Camila,

waiting for the despedida to start

Yuliana, our oldest child, was very attached to John and Lori. 

She managed to hold back her tears through most of the despedida,

but she broke down and sobbed as soon as she received

her parting gift from John and Lori--her very own copy of a photo of them.

Estefany and me at the despedida

Jennifer, Isabel, and Yamelit performing a dance

that Isabel choreographed all by herself. 

I'm convinced she'll be a famous dancer some day.

Rehearsing for our "Say a Little Prayer"

despedida performance

       We are now in the process of even more good-byes, as Courtney heads back to the States this afternoon, followed by Becca, who leaves tomorrow.  We had their joint despedida on Friday, only two weeks after John and Lori's.  Once again, it turned out to be a very tear-filled ceremony.  Elizabeth and I put together a 10 minute video for them, titled, "Hogar de Esperanza: The Musical," made up of a bunch of photos and little video clips of the kids, plus a brief "Glee"-inspired music video, starring us.  It is now available for your viewing pleasure at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRLzwXbWWXs . Try not to cry. 

Courtney and Becca holding Sofia and Camila at their despedida

Carmen, the albergue secretary, trying to help

some confused kids rearrange their acrostic for Becca.

Miss Aly and the Miller School kids

presenting their acrostic for Miss Courtney

        Planning and watching the recent despedidas have made me start to think about what it will be like when it's my turn to leave the albergue at the end of August.  I think it just hit me that the next despedida we have here will be my own, and I am no where close to ready to leave this place.   By tomorrow, six out of the seven original long-term volunteers living here when I arrived will have gone.  Without a doubt, things are, and will remain, different around here without them.  It was such a blessing to be given such an amazing group of people to make up my volunteer family at my home-away-from here in Peru.  I'm definitely going to miss living, working, playing, and laughing with them on a daily basis, but at least I know that it's not unlikely that we'll be reunited again some day in the States, so I'll have that to look forward to.  What scares me the most about leaving is the simple fact that I will have to say good-bye--possibly forever--to 39 of the most amazing children I know.  Watching the final version of the video at Becca and Courtney's despedida really made me realize how incredibly difficult it's going to be and how very deeply I'm going to miss each and every one of these kids.  I'm just going to have to try not to think about it too much and instead just focus on enjoying my last nine weeks with them.


        People are not just leaving though--we've also had some new arrivals recently, which keeps things exciting.  We got two awesome new volunteers this month, Sarah and Lee (Elizabeth's brother), and several more will be arriving throughout July and early August.   We also just received a couple new children.  Two Sundays ago, the albergue doorbell rang and Luis, a little boy in a wheelchair, had been left at at our gate by a relative of his.  We are still not positive how old he is, where his family is, or how long he'll be here, but we are trying to take care of him as best we can as long as needed.  Then, this past Friday night, when Becca, Courtney, and I were on our way out the orphanage gate headed into town, we met Fiorela, a beautiful seven-year-old girl who was being dropped off by a social worker.  She had traveled over two hours from her home town and was still wearing her school uniform.  We stopped to say hello to her, told her we were happy she'd come to stay here, and asked her how old she was.  She wouldn't answer and instead just stared at us for a minute.  Then she smiled, walked right up to me and gave me the biggest hug ever.  It broke my heart.  I didn't know what I could possibly say to comfort this precious little girl that must have felt so scared and alone, so I just held her until she was ready to let go.  Then she went and hugged both Becca and Courtney.  I have no idea what kind of environment and family (or lack there of) Fiorela comes from, but I am happy knowing that she is now in a safe place where she will at least be guarenteed a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat, and plenty of people willing to show her love.  It was precisely the kind of moment that reminds me why I'm here, and why I love my job so much. 

Me and Sofia during recreo (recess)

With help from their classmates, Heydi and Luz

Consuelo buried themselves in the sand at recreo.

Dante and Fernando take a break from

playing to pose for the camera

Cristina

We recently had our first all-albergue game of Red Rover,

which just may have to become a tradition here soon...

Consuelo, with her brother Jose Luis

The twins, Pedro and Pablo, one laughing and one crying.

Me and Maricielo in Kinder. Rumor has it she's going

to be leaving me soon, when she and her brother

go home to live with their parents, possibly as soon

as this weekend, and I have NO idea what I will

do with my best student no longer in my class.  : (

Courtney, me, and Becca at the chicken sandwich shop

near the Plaza de Armas

Lee, Sarah, and Elizabeth's first experience

at the chicken sandwich place. 

Some of Hogar de Esperanza's very own firefighters

who attempted to put out the huge wildfire that broke out

last week in the alfalfa field right outside the albergue. 

After almost 24 hours of burning, it finally died out.

When the fire was still young...

After almost four months in Trujillo, I finally made it out to the

Chan Chan ruins last weekend with Elizabeth, Sarah, and Lee.

Me and Elizabeth lending a helping hand

at the Chan Chan museum

More Chan Chan

Me and some really old squirrel carvings

Courtney's last trip to Salaverry. We met this fisherman

at the restaurant where we stopped for cake.  He had just caught that

stingray in the port down the street from the albergue. 

Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, and Machu Picchu

          Because Peruvian tourist visas are only valid for 90 days, any foreigner who wishes to stay longer and doesn't have a work or student visa must leave the country and re-enter once every three months in order to be issued a new visa (or else pay the Peruivian government for each day they remain after the first 90).  I of course, being the travel lover that I am, decided to use the opportunity to spend some time seeing a different country.  I chose to head to Bolivia since other than Ecuador, which I've already seen, it's probably the cheapest and most easily-accessible by land from here.  Also, it just so happened to work out that my first 90 days in Peru were up right after commencement weekend at Purdue, so Steve was able to fly down and join me for the trip (thanks to a very generous graduation gift from his parents).

   
          I left Trujillo on May 17th on an overnight bus to Lima, where I met Steve the next night.  From there, we traveled southwest to Puno, taking a day trip to the man-made Islas Flotantes (Floating Islands) on Lake Titicaca.  Next, we crossed the border into Bolivia and spent a couple of days in the beautiful lakeside tourist town of Copacabana and on Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun), the largest and most famous island in Titicaca, where the Incans believe the earth was created.  After some intense hiking at a ridiculous altitude of 13,000 ft., we decided to move on and spend a few days in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia (which actually only ended up being a couple hundred feet lower in altitude, but with some altitude pills and a whole lot of coca tea, we managed to survive just fine).  Next, we headed back toward Peru, once again rounding Titicaca, and crossing through the Andes, up to one of our new favorite cities, Cuzco.  The trip wouldn't have been complete without a visit to Aguas Calientes and the epic Machu Picchu, which became our second of the Seven Wonders of the World--our eighth, if you include the 14 official finalists--to see together.                                                                                                                                   
        

              I could probably go on and on about each of the destinations we visited and tell a million stories about all of the amazing sites, people, nature, food, culture, and history we experienced during those two weeks, but I think I'll just sum it all up with a list of my favorite parts/most memorable moments, thus sparing you the details and saving us both time.  Pictures speak better than words anyway, right?  Anyway, here's the list:

1.) NOT getting pick-pocketed or mugged in Lima. In fact, I actually quite enjoyed the city, in particular, the Changing of the Guards at the Governmental Palace, the Larco Art Museum, China Town, and my first suspiro a la limeña (Literally, "Breath of a Liman woman," a popular lemony dessert).

2.)  Enjoying what we imagined might be the best pizza in all of South America, which was made from scratch and cooked over a fire inside the home of a tiny old indigenous Bolivian man on the Isla del Sol.....only to be trumped a day later by an Italian pizza that we decided was quite possibly the best pizza south of the Equator, if not in the best in the world.  My mouth is starting to water now just thinking about it...

3.)  Isla del Sol.  Spending our days playing with baby llamas and looking for (invisible) holy Incan temples and our evenings watching the sun set over the highest navegable lake in the world, with the snow-capped Andes for a backdrop. 

4.)  Getting some free magic tips from a couple señoras at the Witch Market.  Did you know that burning a taxidermied llama fetus inside your home will bring wealth and good luck to the household?  The bigger your llama offering, the bigger your reward.  It's all the rage in La Paz...

5.)  Everything alpaca, everywhere.  Sweaters, pants, hats, gloves, socks, even delicious filet mignon steak, all made from alpaca.   

6.)  Gazing (with my own eyes, not at a mere photograph) at the wonder that is Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley.  Also, being one of the 200 people permitted to climb the summit of Waynapicchu at surise.  (Even Steve agrees--the view was definitely worth all the effort it took to get there!)

7.)  Celebrating La Paz's patron saint's holiday with some of the locals, who were participating in a 24-hour parade.  We seem to have a special gnack for (often unknowingly) showing up to cities in foreign countries for their biggest celebration of the year, my personal favorite being Saint John's Day in Oporto, Portugal. 

 8.)  Being woken up and forced to get off of our border-crossing bus and pay for a for a 20 minute boat ride across the narrowest stretch of water in Lake Titicaca, only to watch our empty bus drive onto its own separate boat to meet us at the other side of the lake.  Apparently, it's the passengers, not the bus itself, that would cause the boat to sink.

9.)  Finally getting to eat our first cuy (Spanish for guinea pig, quite the delicacy here in Peru), which was only possible after a great deal of instruction from the owner of our hostel in Cuzco.

10.)  A grand total of 94 hours of quality time spent together on public transportation.  (If you'd like the breakdown, it was 4 hours on trains, 5 hours on boats, 6 hours in taxis and/or colectivos, and 79 hours on buses.)  Now if that didn't teach me patience, I don't know what will... 

Here's a small sampling of the 1000 some photos we took on the trip. The rest of the pics are available for your viewing pleasure at http://jenenperu.shutterfly.com/

The floating islands on the Peruvian side of Titicaca

Totora reed boat, used for centuries by the Titicaca natives

A little Quechua village on one of the floating islands

View of Titicaca and the Andes from the

    New found friend on Isla del Sol

          View of La Paz as you enter the valley

Parade in La Paz

Our new musician friends from the parade

One of the biggest cemeteries in La Paz. 

Coffins are stacked on top of each other instead of being buried there.