We woke up at 5 am today, packed all our stuff, and were at the airport at 6:00 am. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:30, but didn't actually depart until about 7:00. We arrived in Lima at about 8:00 and were going through security at about 8:45 when we realized that our next flight was scheduled to depart at 8:30. We hustled through security (as fast as you can hustle through airport security) and ran to the gate. Turns out that the time on the ticket (8:30) is when the plane arrives at the gate, not when it starts boarding. We had until about 9:35 till the plane started boarding.
I don't think I mentioned this, but this year is the 100th year anniversary since Machu Picchu was discovered. Because of that, on the plane we didn't get the average pretzel or nut mix snack. We got a small box of candy/snacks. There was a caramel-filled chocolate egg-shaped-like-candy, a thing that was similar to kit kat except bigger and a lot more wafer and a lot less chocolate. And there were also some crackers.
We arrived in Cusco (the flight in is pretty interesting. You fly awfully close to some mountains and the runway seems to be just enough to land the plane) and it was very cold. Instead of being like 99 all day and 80 at night like in Pucallpa, it's about 69 all day and about 35 at night.
Today we explored the town square and many beautiful architectural buildings. (A lot of the streets are one-lane cobblestone streets. Imagine something along the lines of urban-French-roads).
Tomorrow we will be shopping around.
If anyone wants to Skype, I'll probably be online somewhere from (5:00 pm to 8:00 pm pacific time tomorrow). My Skype name is "derekantrican".
*sorry there aren't any photos for today. Maybe I'll add some later. Though I have taken around 400 photos so far this trip with my SLR (most of them today). Those will be added to my photobucket after the trip.
7/29/11
First day in Cusco
Final Day in Pucallpa
This was supposed to be posted last night but none of the networks were working, so I am posting it now.
So today was our last full day in Pucallpa. We did even less than yesterday. Here's how the day went:
We got up and my dad was put to work cutting palm branches while I was sent to buy "platanos cerdas" (ripe bananas). Antonio, another teenage boy, went with me. We stopped at about 8 stores all through the neighborhood and surrounding area before we finally found them.
Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and a side of...you guessed it...fried bananas. (also strawberry banana smoothie).
*Nothing important enough for this blog happened in this time slot.
For lunch we went to the same resturaunt that we had dinner at the first night. We got seafood platters (see picture below) with Paiche (the really big fish I talked about yesterday), crab, crawdad, seaweed, fried corn (tasted like corn nuts), regular cooked corn, yucca, and sweet potato.
We then visited the lake near the properties that we saw yesterday (you can see it in the background of the picture of Jenny and me below) there is an island in the lake and a small outlet to the river. People travel up the river to their farms in the jungle to collect various fruits and other things that they sell on the shore of the lake. There are many shops on the shore of the lake selling products of the jungle and products for the journey to and through the jungle.
We picked up Ulysses from the house and left to visit the "Retreat center" the church has. It's basically about 3 2-acre (or so) sized lots that have many different plants on them including yucca, guava, mango, naranja, starfruit, etc. When we were there, the sun set so we got back to the church when it was dark (6:00 pm or so).
Ulysses, Eli, Me and some other guys (seen in the picture below. Ulysses is on the far left and Eli, pronounced "eh-li", is on the far right) moved the scaffolding (two stories above the ground at the top) over to a fan that was just put in whose blades were upside-down. Of course, the scaffolding was too short, and of course (like the average teenage boys) didn't want to waste time putting together the next story of scaffolding...so we put a ladder on top. You can see in the picture below that I held the ladder steady while Eli (and sometimes Ulysses as well) were on it. It took a couple hours because apparently taking blades out of a fan 3 stories off the ground and cleaning them is muy facíl, but putting them back is muy díficil.
After that (at about 9:45 pm) we had spaghetti for dinner.
Tomorrow we get up at 5 am and our flight is at 7:25 am to Lima, then to Cuzco.
Also: can anyone tell me what kind of spider is in that last picture? It is in our bathroom and I really don't want to be sleeping in a room right next to the room with a brown recluse.
7/28/11
Day 2 in Pucallpa
First I'm going to start off stating some things I missed yesterday that are just general things about Peru and the Church we're staying at. This Sabado (Saturday), is Peru's first Día de Gracía (Day of Thanks). The churches started doing it years ago and proposed it to the officials as a National Holiday. Sabado will be the first and Iglesia Luz Divina is having over a hundred officials over (including Mayors, the Governor, etc) and all the Pastors from around the area over for their celebration (which consists of exactly an hour service of thanks, music, etc).
Also, tomorrow is Peru's independence day. I don't know as much about that.
Today we got up and cleaned an outdoor projector screen (which refused to roll up properly). We also demolished a small hut (a thatched roof on 4 posts) and I have pictures of that below.
*Side note: there are quite a few cockroaches here (see pics below), but they like to stay hidden in the cracks and trees. You won't see them unless you are doing a project like ours and demolishing their habitat.
Then we had breakfast (same as yesterday but this time, of course, with bananas). We were also given a taste of capybara (the largest rodent in the world. Looks like a large brown guinea pig. Large as in small dog). We were told that they're hunted at night and shot. We found evidence of this because there were at least two small pieces of metal shot (like from a shotgun) in the meat.
While we were inside, a couple large machines (see pictures below) and a steamroller had showed up to smooth out the dirt roads. Jenny said that she has been talking to the mayor and that he sent his tractors to fix the roads and put gravel on them. They worked all day (in fact, the steamroller is still sitting outside the church right now).
We then washed a bunch of chairs and tables for the Día de Gracía with Ulysses.
We went to visit a piece of land that the Iglesia is thinking about buying (these are the shots below of the "countryside-like" views).
Lunch was at a wedding reception for a friend of Jenny's. We had sopa de pollo y yucca (chicken and yucca soup. Yucca is a plant that closely resembles a potato). The second course was pollo, yucca, onions, olives, y boiled egg (see picture below). Pardon my Spanglish.
We then visited the "slums" of Pucallpa. This is the area where the houses are so close to the river that they flood, even when they are on stilts (see the picture below. The line on the house is where it floods to).
For dinner we went downtown and had a fish that is commonly about 15 feet long. The scales of this fish are about an inch in radius and are used to make necklaces. It was really good and a lot more flavorful than most fish.
*Also below is a picture of the inside of the Iglesia. You can see the beautiful rainforest mural on the back wall.
7/26/11
Day 1 in Pucallpa
Today we woke up at 3:30 in the morning to get to the airport. I set my alarm for 3am. But it hasn't switched over yet (so it was 3am Pacific Time instead of central time). Fortunately my dad's iPhone has switched over so we woke up early enough. The power was out at the Hostal las Fresas so we couldn't shower and had to use the toilet in the dark. We did end up finding our way downstairs and to our cab. We made it on time to our 5am flight to Pucallpa.
When we landed in Pucallpa, the sun was just coming up. Our backpacks were some of the first bags off the plane, but our suitcases took a while. Eventually I went to look for Jennifer myself and dad said he would get the suitcases. As soon as you start walking around in any airport in Peru, you will get at least 10 offers of a taxi (and they usually charge Americans too much). I got out of the luggage collection area and immediately some guys got my attention and pointed to a sign that read (first in Spanish, then English of course) "Do not accept transportation offers from non-group members". I thought "Great! No one will offer me a Taxi!" Then these guys proceeded to offer me a taxi.
I couldn't explain to them that I already had a ride, but thankfully Jennifer recognized me and called out my name. I saw her and told the guys, "''¡Amiga!" From there she gave us a ride back to the church. We got a mini tour of the place, had breakfast (fried eggs, rolls, and strawberry-banana milkshakes), and got to work. There were so many things she had planned for us today that we didn't make it through all of them but we:
- Cleared flower beds around palm trees and added new soil
- Took boards off the side of an old "cover structure" (four posts and a roof)
- Cleaned out the sewer down the road (here there are open sewers, resembling foot-wide moats along every street
- Replacing various windows (I got cut by glass at least 3 times but only had to tie up one of them)
- Traveling around town buying more plants, bark chips, and checking on various work that is being done for the church
Lunch was Peruvian rice (very similar to sticky asian rice, but with a better flavor) with papas fritas (French fries) stir fry on top (with other vegetables and beef) and lemonade. Tonight we're going to a restaurant that has a good Peruvian delicacy (fish, soaked in lemon juice and prepared with other vegetables and seafood). The "Peruvian delicacies" that we've had so far have been super sour. The other is Ahi. It's onions chopped up and soaked in lemon juice with some peppers in it (imagine picking an orange or some other fruit that wasn't quite ripe and getting the most tart taste in the world in your mouth. That's what Ahi tastes like).
Dad and I have also made some friends including two teenage boys Martín and Ulysses. I'll post pictures of them tomorrow along with pictures of the church. The pictures below are of the apartment above the church, Luz Divina, that we're staying in (believe it or not, but there is wifi in our room. It's really iffy though) and of me in the Pucallpa airport just after landing. There's also a picture of me and some children at the church (the closest to me us Cheyenne and she asked A TON of questions!). Also, there is the fish I ate called Cobina (I think). It tastes like trout, but with real flavor similar to salmon, but not too fishy. And there are some fried bananas in the picture. Bananas are eaten prepared any way with everything here (just like Ahi. Ahi here is as common as ketchup in the States, but it is eaten with everything)!
7/25/11
Hostal las Fresas
Got here to the hostal. Came with a few teachers from Colorado and a couple from France (that speak very little English). One bed for dad and I. We'll figure it out.
I am now officially "Peruvian"
Just touched down in Lima, Peru!! The flight was a very long 6 hours (luckily I was able to sleep for half of it). We got two meals: lasagna for dinner, and a sandwich for....some....other....meal. (Btw- the great thing about your dad being on the Atkins diet eating pre-packed meals? You get his dessert.)
We were in a big plane (a 767, 7 seats wide). There was this guy a few seats down in the row that was quite interesting. At first he just seemed overly friendly, but soon you could tell he was drunk. Eventually he quieted down, though.
There was nothing good on the tvs. An "R" rated movie that had a romance theme to it (fortunately there are probably rules that prevent them from showing nudity on planes). Also some stupid tv shows.
A guy is picking us up at the airport to take us to our hostal for the night: Hostal las Fresas (which, I believe, translates to something along the lines of "The Strawberry Inn"). Then he'll take us back to the airport in time for our 5 am flight tomorrow to Pucallpa, Peru to help Jennifer Harris.
(It might be hard to see, but the pictures below are lights from South America as seen from the sky. Of course, the crappy quality is because they were taken with my iPod's camera)
Getting on the plane for Peru
Adios! I'm officially getting on the plane to leave the country and the continent (outside North America for the first time)! If I die while I'm gone, none of you get my stuff.
Arrived in Houston
Got to Houston and it is 99 here! Wifi costs money here (stupid) but you can get a free 45 minutes. The next plane I get on will land in Lima, Peru!
Since my dad is a million mile flier, we get to stay in the frequent flier clubs until our next flight (hence the picture). Free food!
Early morning flight
Got up at 3 this morning for the flight to Denver. My dad saw a sign that said "SENTS" on a TSA table and he asked the lady if it stood for Smile, Eye contact, Neutralization, Take-down, and Spit. The lady said she wasn't sure about Spit, but she liked the other ones.
7/24/11
Trip Details
7/25 depart at 5:30 a.m. from PDX.
Arrive at LIM 10:52 p.m.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294316-d1626465-Reviews-Hostal_Las_Fresas-Lima.html
7/26-7/29 a.m.
The missionary we're helping in Pucallpa:
http://www.jensjungleministry.com/
7/29-7/31 Hostal in Cuzco.
http://www.cuzco.com.pe/
7/31-8/2 (Biking trip from the mountains down into the forest below)
We are doing the "Classic Backdoor to Machu Picchu"
http://www.gravityperu.com/index.php?mod=tempview1&id=1299435115
Camping first night
http://www.canopyperu.com/
Our hostal in Aguas Caliente
http://www.apus-peru.com/hostal_payacha.htm
Our return flight from LIM to PDX is 8/3 at 11:50 p.m. Arrive PDX 8/4.
I will try to post every night and maybe upload a couple pictures here and there. Turns out, Peru is only 2 hours ahead of pacific time. Also, I might be on Skype from time to time because my dad has a mobile hotspot with an international plan (my Skype name is "derekantrican").