Arriving in Lima we headed straight for our hostal – The Inka Lodge Hostal – in Miraflores. Miraflores is the “nice part” of Lima and the safest for tourists to stay. Having heard nice things about this area we were a little disappointed! It is a fairly lively place in the evening but we both found it fairly bland and uninteresting. The area is littered with western eateries and cafes, which is always a shame to see but at least it allowed us to satisfy our appetites at Papa John's Pizza after a month of eating chicken and rice in Pisco!
The hostal was really nice and so we decided to spend a couple of days there to relax and get some admin done (significantly a huge laundry session to try and remove the last of the dust and concrete from Pisco!).
With use of a kitchen, we didn't eat out again but did head to the Cinema to watch Ironman 2 (in English!). The cinema is located in a shopping/entertainment centre built into the cliffs by the sea, and was probably the most impressive part of the city which we saw. The coast does have beaches and a walkway but with the very overcast skies (or smog?!?) we didn't make use of it. Although we enjoyed watching the numerous paragliders in the skies above.
So there we have it, we saw hardly anything of this city which may have been a shame but with little glowing reviews from other travellers we were more than happy to head up the coast to Mancora to revive our tans and enjoy some surfing!
Sunday 30 May 2010
Peru - Mancora
We were dropped off early morning from our night bus in Mancora and immediately loved the change of scenery. The place is basically one main street, off which there are tons of local eateries, hostals and market stalls. A short tut-tut ride (on a tarmac road, very different to the painful tut-tut journeys in Pisco on pot hole ridden dirt tracks) took us to Loki del Mar, 
our hostal for 5 days. Loki is a chain of hostals in Bolivia and Peru based in the cities mainly, with this being their newest venture on the coast; they are party hostals 
and although a little pricey they are really well maintained and a fun place to stay...and this one had a pool! Having to wait for our room to be ready we spent the first morning checking out the town to find what tasty street food options there were...not many! Checking into our room we were very happy to find we had a nice balcony overlooking the pool and beach. We then headed to the beach for the afternoon and enjoyed the rays!
There wasn't a lot to do here except sun bathe, surf, kite surf, drink, eat....and that's about it, so we happily spent our days sun bathing and taking on the waves before enjoying a few beers in the evening whilst we watched the beautiful sun set from the beach. We must admit though, that although we were staying at the crazy party hostal we didn't exactly join the majority of gringos and party through till the morning every night...strangely we both felt so tired that we were able to drift off at a sensible hour and sleep through the loud music and cheers that died off usually about 4am each day! (Maybe it's our age...everyone there seemed to be gap year students!)The beach was great, nice fine sand, sandy sea beds and warm water! The surfing whilst we were there however, was difficult. The waves were strong and messy and there were lots of other surfers in the water to avoid hitting or being hit by! However, Lynne took a couple of lessons and with the help of the instructor soon became the Queen of the waves, riding many waves comfortably stood up and showing all those other beginners how to do it!! (Admittedly also showing David, who was cocky enough to think he was a decent surfer but who figured he must have done something to offend the sea because he took a battering!).
We also got back into the running making use of the long beach. We usually went an hour or so before sunset and enjoyed the tranquility of the far stretches of the beach all to ourselves. For lunch / dinner we often tucked into one of the many fresh fish meals available including Ceviche, the local coastal cuisine in Peru that consists of citrus-marinated raw seafood served with onions, chile, sweet potatoe, salad and corn.
Soon enough it was time to leave and having enjoyed our time on the coast we decided that our first stop in Ecuador would be on the coast and took the overnight bus to Montanita!
Thursday 20 May 2010
Huacachina
For two of our weekends while at PSF we headed to nearby Huacachina. This is a little town situated in the desert by Ica. The main attraction are the land sand dunes where you can take sand buggies and go sand boarding. The first weekend there were 15 of us from PSF in this small town! We 
headed of
f straight after work on Saturday afternoon, checked into our hostel (with pool!) and then piled into the sand buggies for two hours of sand fun!! The sand buggies were great fun, the drivers took us on a roller coaster of a ride around the dunes, with plenty of jumps and jolts! Then it was boarding time...for the first three 'practise' runs we all attempted to sand board upright (as you would snowboard), however we soon realised that it was faster and a more thrilling experience to go down the slope on your stomach headfirst!! Of course, there were a few wipeouts at the bottom of the slopes with (you guessed it) David taking the biggest tumble and ending up covered in sand and dust but luckily only a few bruises! It was a lot of fun and the ride back in the buggy as the sunset was even better!!After the boarding it was back to our hostel for a long-awaited hot shower (the showers in Pisco were cold!) and a ice-cold beer at the poolside bar! We then danced the night away at the hostel's bar until the early hours!
The next morning we were all feeling a bit delicate, so it was off to a local cafe (run by a English lady!) for a full english breakfast, or as close to it as you can get in Peru! This was followed by much poolside lounging and silly games in the pool before we packed up back to Pisco. The next weekend followed a similar routine, although we didn't sandboard this time. There were even more PSF volunteers there this time and so we pretty much took over the hostel. That evening we headed back to the cafe for some more British style food and some cocktails, before once again taking over the dance floor at the hostel!
Tuesday 18 May 2010
David's PSF Blog
Below is a description of the projects I worked on during my time at PSF.
Las Dunas
Following the earthquake some whole communities had been flattened and have either stayed in the same location and are trying to rebuild their homes as before or have opted to move to new land to rebuild their lives in a different location. Las Dunas is one such community that has moved to the other side of the Pan American Highway and into the foothills of the huge sand dunes that line the edge of the vast desert region. The central Government of Peru in an effort to show the world they were giving aid to the town's people supplied a large percentage of the community cheap makeshift 
plastic homes. These had one room only, were nailed together and were simply placed on the ground. Now, with the help of a local church scheme, a few streets of the community are having concrete foundations laid and new brick homes constructed. The role of PSF in this project was to dig and prepare the foundations at which point the Church foundation will takeover. This project took roughly three weeks and we arrived for the last three days, two of which I worked on. The work consisted of pickaxing and where necessary jack-hammering the foundations and clearing away the rubble in long wheelbarrow runs. In the heat of Pisco this proved very hard indeed. It was a fantastic way to start our time at PSF due to the large team on site and the fact you were working right in the middle of one of the poorest communities dealing with the locals who also cooked you lunch every day.
My first job at the new house involved expanding one of the dormitories. Along with Nick, a locksmith from Bristol, we were to take down a plywood wall out into the large hallway, then use the materials we could from that wall to build a new wall for an enlarged room. This was done so more beds could be fit into the room. With no carpentry experience between us we set to work and over 3.5/4 days we completed the task.
Being an NGO, money is obviously strictly monitored and all of it after the small amount spent on food and other facilities goes into the community. As a result, the aim for the construction of the new house was to be at as little expense as possible. One of the main reasons this was possible is because of the large amount of timber donated by a large Peruvian Steel company. This is wood that is used to transport steel and is mainly scrap wood, but we have first option to visit their site and shift through it all selecting the best – see below. What this means is that for our wall we were to use as good timber as we could find from the worst piles. It proved a tricky proposition, especially with the lack of tools and supplies available but we did it and were proud of the job done!
Sonja's House
Sonja is a lady who lives in one of the poor communities that was flattened during the earthquake. Here the community is rebuilding where their original houses stood. Sonja and her family have raised enough money to buy new materials for the house where needed and the role of PSF was to supply labour and tools to help her rebuild her home. I worked on this job for three days taking ownership for the completion of the job. This included helping construct several roofs of bamboo and asteria (small strips of thin bamboo nailed together in long strips), a small amount of concrete pouring and helping to clear all the rubble and dirt from the areas of the home that have been a construction site for so long. It was great fun doing this job as it was only two of us there with Sonja and it gave me the opportunity to use my Spanish all day. She was a delightful lady who helped really open my eyes to the long and arduous process it's been for so many since the earthquake. She has worked non-stop for three years along with her husband to try and rebuild and it was upsetting that we left with her having run out of money to complete the roof. I tried my best to source the materials she required but everything we had was required for other projects. Although frustrating, it showed the professionalism of this organisation where every project is assessed and prioritised to ensure the best use of materials. At the time we left they were in the process of raising money to help supply the materials required.
Olga's House, Kathryn & Hugh's Miracle Project concrete pour, Ludoteca School: All these were projects I worked on with Lynne which she has blogged.
Kitchen Tiling
For my last day I fancied working at the new house, I therefore volunteered to help the resident carpenter who was responsible for building the fantastic new kitchen to fit the kitchen units and then tile them; Another new skill to add the list! I was able to fix the units to the walls easily enough before being shown how to prepare the mix and the tiling technique. I believe I did a good job and was happy to receive acknowledgement from some of the builders especially after dealing with some uneven table tops. Unfortunately these were heard by Lynne who now has me down to do the bathroom upon our return!!
Las Dunas
Following the earthquake some whole communities had been flattened and have either stayed in the same location and are trying to rebuild their homes as before or have opted to move to new land to rebuild their lives in a different location. Las Dunas is one such community that has moved to the other side of the Pan American Highway and into the foothills of the huge sand dunes that line the edge of the vast desert region. The central Government of Peru in an effort to show the world they were giving aid to the town's people supplied a large percentage of the community cheap makeshift 
plastic homes. These had one room only, were nailed together and were simply placed on the ground. Now, with the help of a local church scheme, a few streets of the community are having concrete foundations laid and new brick homes constructed. The role of PSF in this project was to dig and prepare the foundations at which point the Church foundation will takeover. This project took roughly three weeks and we arrived for the last three days, two of which I worked on. The work consisted of pickaxing and where necessary jack-hammering the foundations and clearing away the rubble in long wheelbarrow runs. In the heat of Pisco this proved very hard indeed. It was a fantastic way to start our time at PSF due to the large team on site and the fact you were working right in the middle of one of the poorest communities dealing with the locals who also cooked you lunch every day.Dinner
As discussed, each day several volunteers are required to cook dinner for everyone. For someone who has rarely cooked for more than two people (with the exception of a few barbeques) this proved a very enjoyable task especially when numbers were over 70. I cooked dinner twice, the first time in my first week when along with two others we joined Carolina in the kitchen. Carolina is the sister of the president, the local Peruvian who set up the charity around two years ago. Carolina has been a volunteer since day one and before having worked as a volunteer for Burners Without Borders the preceding organisation – also run by her family. She is a fantastic person with lots of energy and more importantly she used to run the kitchen and so is used to cooking for so many people. This day we cooked Lomo Salteado – a local dish. It's beef steak with chips, peppers, onions, chilies served with rice and salad. It was a really fun day visiting the market and buying at the meat and vegetables, although it was a little off putting at the meat market when there are flies buzzing around all the meat and not much in he way of the strict hygiene standards of UK supermarkets! It happened to be the birthday of several volunteers the same day and as a result we decided to make a large quantity of Sangira for everyone to enjoy as a surprise. As this would blow the budget, we decided to pay for it ourselves, especially since the cheapest box of wine cost just over 50p for 1litre!! The rest of the day was spent back at the volunteer house where we prepared the food. I took the responsibility for frying all the chips and enjoyed the “chippy experience” especially when it was an important task to taste each batch of chips! The sangria went down a treat and set everyone off for the big night we had in town!
As discussed, each day several volunteers are required to cook dinner for everyone. For someone who has rarely cooked for more than two people (with the exception of a few barbeques) this proved a very enjoyable task especially when numbers were over 70. I cooked dinner twice, the first time in my first week when along with two others we joined Carolina in the kitchen. Carolina is the sister of the president, the local Peruvian who set up the charity around two years ago. Carolina has been a volunteer since day one and before having worked as a volunteer for Burners Without Borders the preceding organisation – also run by her family. She is a fantastic person with lots of energy and more importantly she used to run the kitchen and so is used to cooking for so many people. This day we cooked Lomo Salteado – a local dish. It's beef steak with chips, peppers, onions, chilies served with rice and salad. It was a really fun day visiting the market and buying at the meat and vegetables, although it was a little off putting at the meat market when there are flies buzzing around all the meat and not much in he way of the strict hygiene standards of UK supermarkets! It happened to be the birthday of several volunteers the same day and as a result we decided to make a large quantity of Sangira for everyone to enjoy as a surprise. As this would blow the budget, we decided to pay for it ourselves, especially since the cheapest box of wine cost just over 50p for 1litre!! The rest of the day was spent back at the volunteer house where we prepared the food. I took the responsibility for frying all the chips and enjoyed the “chippy experience” especially when it was an important task to taste each batch of chips! The sangria went down a treat and set everyone off for the big night we had in town!After having a lot of fun with Carolina and the team, the second time I cooked it was again with Carolina and this time we opted for another Peruvian classic, Stingray (or Raya in Spanish). It was served breaded and fried and so I spent a lot more time with the pans frying the fish. We also made spring rolls (a local variant) and lots of salad.
New Volunteer House
During our stay, the organisation moved from it's original three buildings to a new larger headquarters nearby. This was a necessary step as the organisation has continued to grow and is much easier to run when everyone is under one roof! The new building is a hostal they have taken a open year lease on. From being handed the keys however there was a lot of work to be done including:
moving all the possessions from the previous houses
cleaning, repainting the old houses
cleaning the new house
building two new dormitories at the new house, one on the roof and one on top of the office
building a new kitchen
building a new out house for the bio diesel compound
building a new tool shed
concreting large portions of the yard
amongst other smaller tasks.
During our stay, the organisation moved from it's original three buildings to a new larger headquarters nearby. This was a necessary step as the organisation has continued to grow and is much easier to run when everyone is under one roof! The new building is a hostal they have taken a open year lease on. From being handed the keys however there was a lot of work to be done including:
moving all the possessions from the previous houses
cleaning, repainting the old houses
cleaning the new house
building two new dormitories at the new house, one on the roof and one on top of the office
building a new kitchen
building a new out house for the bio diesel compound
building a new tool shed
concreting large portions of the yard
amongst other smaller tasks.
This meant that for the rest of the time we would be there lots of volunteer time would be spent at the house and not in the community, but it was a very important task and the quick completion of the new house would mean the organisation would be better set up to run its operations.
My first job at the new house involved expanding one of the dormitories. Along with Nick, a locksmith from Bristol, we were to take down a plywood wall out into the large hallway, then use the materials we could from that wall to build a new wall for an enlarged room. This was done so more beds could be fit into the room. With no carpentry experience between us we set to work and over 3.5/4 days we completed the task.Being an NGO, money is obviously strictly monitored and all of it after the small amount spent on food and other facilities goes into the community. As a result, the aim for the construction of the new house was to be at as little expense as possible. One of the main reasons this was possible is because of the large amount of timber donated by a large Peruvian Steel company. This is wood that is used to transport steel and is mainly scrap wood, but we have first option to visit their site and shift through it all selecting the best – see below. What this means is that for our wall we were to use as good timber as we could find from the worst piles. It proved a tricky proposition, especially with the lack of tools and supplies available but we did it and were proud of the job done!
Sonja's House
Sonja is a lady who lives in one of the poor communities that was flattened during the earthquake. Here the community is rebuilding where their original houses stood. Sonja and her family have raised enough money to buy new materials for the house where needed and the role of PSF was to supply labour and tools to help her rebuild her home. I worked on this job for three days taking ownership for the completion of the job. This included helping construct several roofs of bamboo and asteria (small strips of thin bamboo nailed together in long strips), a small amount of concrete pouring and helping to clear all the rubble and dirt from the areas of the home that have been a construction site for so long. It was great fun doing this job as it was only two of us there with Sonja and it gave me the opportunity to use my Spanish all day. She was a delightful lady who helped really open my eyes to the long and arduous process it's been for so many since the earthquake. She has worked non-stop for three years along with her husband to try and rebuild and it was upsetting that we left with her having run out of money to complete the roof. I tried my best to source the materials she required but everything we had was required for other projects. Although frustrating, it showed the professionalism of this organisation where every project is assessed and prioritised to ensure the best use of materials. At the time we left they were in the process of raising money to help supply the materials required. Olga's House, Kathryn & Hugh's Miracle Project concrete pour, Ludoteca School: All these were projects I worked on with Lynne which she has blogged.
Demolition Job
I spent just one day on this project at a house near the centre of town. It belonged to a couple who were looking to remove a wall and dig up some old foundations in preparation for the builders to build their new rooms. I was happy to see that we had the jackhammer booked as this one one of the power tools I was keen to try. We spent the whole morning jack hammering ans pick axing the old foundations. The wall they wanted taking down was complicated by the fact there was a huge crack diagonally across it which extended past the point they wanted to remain standing. With none of us being building or demolition experts it was obviously risky and in addition to being a little dangerous is would be too easy for someone who didn't know what they were doing to pull down the whole wall and the adjacent one. Over lunch we discussed this with the owner and a builder volunteer came to assess and agreed that we shouldn't touch it. Relieved we enjoyed the slap up meal they prepared for us, 2 courses, coca-cola and then a large bottle of beer each!!! In the heat of the day and after a hard morning this didn't help us get back to work!! Luckily there wasn't much to be done by us with the wall being a no-go. So instead we sat and “supervised” (watched!) a friend of the couple try and take down the wall against our advice by himself with the most minute regard for his own health and safety! At times he was trying to persuade the dodgy circular saw to start by spinning it with his own hand when plugged in! At one point he turned it on with the blade on the floor and almost lost his foot!! After lending him some of our tools we decided we couldn't stop him and left...it was at this point when we shook his hand that we noticed he had 2 missing fingers.....obviously some people just never learn!!!
I spent just one day on this project at a house near the centre of town. It belonged to a couple who were looking to remove a wall and dig up some old foundations in preparation for the builders to build their new rooms. I was happy to see that we had the jackhammer booked as this one one of the power tools I was keen to try. We spent the whole morning jack hammering ans pick axing the old foundations. The wall they wanted taking down was complicated by the fact there was a huge crack diagonally across it which extended past the point they wanted to remain standing. With none of us being building or demolition experts it was obviously risky and in addition to being a little dangerous is would be too easy for someone who didn't know what they were doing to pull down the whole wall and the adjacent one. Over lunch we discussed this with the owner and a builder volunteer came to assess and agreed that we shouldn't touch it. Relieved we enjoyed the slap up meal they prepared for us, 2 courses, coca-cola and then a large bottle of beer each!!! In the heat of the day and after a hard morning this didn't help us get back to work!! Luckily there wasn't much to be done by us with the wall being a no-go. So instead we sat and “supervised” (watched!) a friend of the couple try and take down the wall against our advice by himself with the most minute regard for his own health and safety! At times he was trying to persuade the dodgy circular saw to start by spinning it with his own hand when plugged in! At one point he turned it on with the blade on the floor and almost lost his foot!! After lending him some of our tools we decided we couldn't stop him and left...it was at this point when we shook his hand that we noticed he had 2 missing fingers.....obviously some people just never learn!!!Concrete Pours – Hillside community
The day after doing the concrete pour at Kathryn and Hugh's Miracle project (see Lynne's comments) I volunteered to join a team doing another large pour in a poor hillside community. Here, the family of the house had prepared the foundations and we were simply doing the pour with their aggregate and cement. Upon arrival we saw just how large these foundations were and that we were going to have to be taking the wheelbarrows of concrete over dodgy looking planks to access some of the areas! In total we went through 35 large bags of cement which equalled 70 pours! We did this in one go in the morning finishing for lunch at 14:30 – it was probably the hardest physical day of my time there especially after the previous days pour. We had just enough people to do all the tasks required but this required lots of rotation of duties. The lunch the family provided was substantial and after feeding us with shots of the liquor Pisco (very strong and nasty neat!) we all crashed out on the floor while we waited for the truck to pick us up! By the time we got back, we helped out in the yard at the new house.
The day after doing the concrete pour at Kathryn and Hugh's Miracle project (see Lynne's comments) I volunteered to join a team doing another large pour in a poor hillside community. Here, the family of the house had prepared the foundations and we were simply doing the pour with their aggregate and cement. Upon arrival we saw just how large these foundations were and that we were going to have to be taking the wheelbarrows of concrete over dodgy looking planks to access some of the areas! In total we went through 35 large bags of cement which equalled 70 pours! We did this in one go in the morning finishing for lunch at 14:30 – it was probably the hardest physical day of my time there especially after the previous days pour. We had just enough people to do all the tasks required but this required lots of rotation of duties. The lunch the family provided was substantial and after feeding us with shots of the liquor Pisco (very strong and nasty neat!) we all crashed out on the floor while we waited for the truck to pick us up! By the time we got back, we helped out in the yard at the new house.
Aceros Arequipa
As I have mentioned above, the majority of the wood used by the organisation is donated by Aceros Arequipa one of Peru's major steel manufacturers. They have a huge plant just outside Pisco where a large team of us went in trucks to sift and sort through their scrap wood piles. It was interesting to visit the plant and be transported from the run down town of Pisco to a very modern plant only just down the road. The plant reminded me of some of the large chemical plants I visited when a chemist all those years ago and we were amazed how western it felt. The job of shifting through the wood was good fun and involved the brave few of us to climb the unsteady mountains of wood and simply battle our way through it. Although maybe a little unsafe it was good dirty fun and by the end of the day I was the filthiest I have ever been!! Lunch was eaten at the site canteen with all the workers, a funny friendly bunch (bunch being a few hundred of the 1000+ who work shifts at the 24-hour plant). The trip back was spent in two trucks with all the wood as we needed to drop and resort it at our wood store near the house. One of the trucks was stopped by police twice and fined for carrying people in the back of the truck on the Pan American Highway which didn't amuse the driver but amused us.
As I have mentioned above, the majority of the wood used by the organisation is donated by Aceros Arequipa one of Peru's major steel manufacturers. They have a huge plant just outside Pisco where a large team of us went in trucks to sift and sort through their scrap wood piles. It was interesting to visit the plant and be transported from the run down town of Pisco to a very modern plant only just down the road. The plant reminded me of some of the large chemical plants I visited when a chemist all those years ago and we were amazed how western it felt. The job of shifting through the wood was good fun and involved the brave few of us to climb the unsteady mountains of wood and simply battle our way through it. Although maybe a little unsafe it was good dirty fun and by the end of the day I was the filthiest I have ever been!! Lunch was eaten at the site canteen with all the workers, a funny friendly bunch (bunch being a few hundred of the 1000+ who work shifts at the 24-hour plant). The trip back was spent in two trucks with all the wood as we needed to drop and resort it at our wood store near the house. One of the trucks was stopped by police twice and fined for carrying people in the back of the truck on the Pan American Highway which didn't amuse the driver but amused us.Plastering and Painting the Old house
I spent only one and half days helping out a team plaster and paint the old volunteer houses in preparation for handing back the keys. With little tools we applied the plaster by hand before sandpapering it when dry and then adding the paint (which was a type of plaster mix again). In Peru, it is the responsibility of the landlord to supply the materials whilst the tenant does the work; therefore we had little input into what we could use. I was also required to remove the barbed wire from the roof and gate of the old house, a task that required the use a very heavy circular saw to cut through some rebar.
I spent only one and half days helping out a team plaster and paint the old volunteer houses in preparation for handing back the keys. With little tools we applied the plaster by hand before sandpapering it when dry and then adding the paint (which was a type of plaster mix again). In Peru, it is the responsibility of the landlord to supply the materials whilst the tenant does the work; therefore we had little input into what we could use. I was also required to remove the barbed wire from the roof and gate of the old house, a task that required the use a very heavy circular saw to cut through some rebar.
Kitchen Tiling
For my last day I fancied working at the new house, I therefore volunteered to help the resident carpenter who was responsible for building the fantastic new kitchen to fit the kitchen units and then tile them; Another new skill to add the list! I was able to fix the units to the walls easily enough before being shown how to prepare the mix and the tiling technique. I believe I did a good job and was happy to receive acknowledgement from some of the builders especially after dealing with some uneven table tops. Unfortunately these were heard by Lynne who now has me down to do the bathroom upon our return!! Free time
In the eveneings, it was very common for everyone to enjoy a cold beer back at the house with possibly a generous slice of cake from "Cake Lady". A quick cold shower loater we'd return to the house for dinner. They organised activites for the evenings after dinner each week, the only one I partook in was football; either between ourselves or playing against the local tour guides. The matches against the tour guides was quite a feisty occasion...just the way 5-a-side should be!
Lynne's PSF Blog
By way of background, Pisco Sin Fronteras is a charity which was set up to help the people of Pisco following an earthquake in 2007, which flattened most of the town. The community has recieved very little help from the state. Immediately after the earthquake, an organisation called 'Hands On' arrived to help the locals in the immediate aftermath, they were then followed by 'Burners without Borders' another NGO which aims to help communities following disasters. PSF replaced this charity about 2 years ago and have continued the work started by the two former aid organisations. The charity relies on word of mouth to attract volunteers and raises money with the help of volunteers and their friends and familes, as well as through approaching Peruvian businesses for assistance with projects. All members of management are volunteers who give up their time to help the community of Pisco.
So we arrived on Sunday night and were met out the taxi by some other volunteers heading off to the pool...'the pool, this isn't going to be as tough as we expected we thought'!!
Monday morning started at 7.45am for breakfast with all the volunteers in the yard of one of the Casas de Voluntarios. Volunteers take it in turns to cook breakfast so we were treated to scrambled eggs, fruit and bread this morning. The morning meeting kicks off at 8.30 with announcements and introductions from new volunteers, hence David and I had to stand up, like new kids at school, to tell the group about us. After this, TBC, the charity's director (real name Dave) gave us a summary of each project going on that day and the required number of volunteers for each one. 
For Monday I ended up on dinner duty with three other volunteers, after a quick chat we decided to make spaghetti bolgnese and two of the group headed to the market to purchase the ingredients while I helped other volunteers breaking up pallets until my group returned. I then spent the rest of the morning on the roof of the house chopping up enough vegetables to feed 70 people!! We finished chopping around 2pm, and I headed back to the market with Gemma, another volunteer to buy the mince meat and a few other bits and pieces. Around 4pm we started cooking the bolognese sauce and the garlic breads, it was quite a job cooking for that many people but we pulled it off, serving up the pasta, sauce and breads by 6.30pm. Luckily for us there were another group taking care of dinner dishes so we could have a bowl of bolognese and relax!
Tuesday, I volunteered to attend two child daycare centres (ludotecas) in some poorer communities of Pisco. The first was El Molinho , a neighbourhood in the desert, where a number of people relocated to when their homes collapsed in the earthquake in 2007. PSF had built a ludoteca there and supplied volunteers every day to help out the lady who runs it. That morning there were only 4 kids there, although there can be as many as 30 some days. They range in ages from 2 – 14 but were all younger this morning. So I spent the morning playing football (badly!), pushing swings and working on the alphabet with one little boy.In the afternoon we attended Alameda Ludoteca. This is even busier that the morning's one and is run by one volunteer lady who can have as many as 50 children running riot! For the kids this is a really important part of their lives, many of them have few toys to play with at home, so they get really excited when the Ludoteca opens and run in grabbing at the toys and games. They are really energetic and need a little more discipline than the morning's kids, they are constantly shouting for your attention and you have to try and be a bit more strict with them, not letting them walk all over you or spoil games that other children are playing! I really enjoyed volunteering here, although it was exhausting!! We played lots of catching games and building (and destroying!) sandcastles, it was great fun and you really feel that the children are benefiting from the centre.
We headed over to the volunteer house later that evening, where a feast of chilli, beans, rice and salad awaited us!
Wednesday, I volunteered to go to Las Dunes to dig trenches for house foundations. The community of Tupac Amaru was badly hit in the earthquake, many residents are now living in temporary accommodation in the desert and a church group has donated funds to help them build more permanent homes. PSF have volunteered to aid the residents digging trenches required for the foundations. David had done this the past two days and was aching from the work so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about!! It was tough...we were digging trenches, chipping away at the rocks and taking the waste away in wheelbarrows to dump. After just a few minutes on site, everyone was dripping in sweat, as the sun was relentless with no shade over the site. We worked until 12.30, then took an hour for lunch, prepared for us by a group of residents. The food at this project is well known among volunteers to be really good and plentiful, and indeed it was!! After lunch we continued the work until 4.15, when I was pleased to be able to down tools and climb into the van heading back for a much needed shower and well deserved dinner!! The team cooking today (including David) had prepared Lomo Salteado, a Peruvian dish of rice, chips, vegetables and meat and it was awesome!!
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I was on the moving team, helping to move the contents of one of the volunteer houses over to a new place that the organisation was relocating to. I started the day, working in a group to clean the rooms of the new house. Then I joined in with various groups moving items across to the new house... not quite as rewarding as some of the jobs out in the community but a necessary job nonetheless and physically tiring.
I started the next week once again on the moving team but the dreaded Pisco belly struck me on Monday night and so I spent a very boring day on Tuesday in bed eating very little and drinking lots of fluids, hoping to recover for the next day.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday:I joined a team of four of us working on a local school project. Tupac Amaru School was built by PSF, financed by some previous volunteers, as a place where local people can go to learn practical skills such as cooking, building, carpentry, sewing, etc. While I was there we worked on fitting the roof, securing the walls, digging a trenches for the new plumbing, building tables, sanding furniture and painting murals. This was a really great project and meant we got to meet and spend time with the local lady who was going to run the school. Everyday she cooked us an amazing meal at her house for lunch and came round at the end of the day to talk excitedly about her plans for the school. I was sorry that we would be leaving Pisco before the school was finished and opened for business but happy and proud that the murals we painted would adorn the walls of the school, the tables would be used by new pupils each year and the trenches we dug in the blistering heat would provide water to the school for years to come. 
The following week, David and I decided to do a few more jobs together, one of the days we helped out in the Alameda Ludoteca together, playing football with the locals kids, with David teaching them a few tricks! In the afternoon we ventured to Olga's house, Olga is a local lady who is trying to build her own house, fitting the building work around her schedule as a teacher at a local school. David and I helped her and her husband fit the re-bar for the concrete columns they would pour the next day. 
Thursday was one of my favourite days at PSF, it will forever be known as 'Kathryn and Hugh's Concrete Floors Day'! Kathryn and Hugh are two volunteers who had raised money from friends and family at home to finance concrete floors for two local families. So many families in Pisco live on dirt floors, this is what their children play on and where they sleep, it is no way to live but concrete floors are a luxury they simply can't afford. 
The two houses had been cleared the previous day and one, a modular (shed-like) structure had been moved and the floor area marked out. We spent the first couple of hours levelling the floors with pick axes and shovels, before laying out the plastic under layer. Then the fun began!! There was about ten of us working on the project, taking it in turns to shovel aggregate into the mixer, cut and move cement bags, wheelbarrow the concrete to the houses and level the concrete once poured. By 2pm we had one floor done and a tasty lunch awaiting us cooked by the families. 
House two wasn't quite such a smooth operation, the concrete company hadn't delivered all the cement we had ordered and the aggregate was running low. Being the alpha males (!) David and Hugh went off to pick up the remaining ten bags of cement, unfortunately on the way back the wheel of the trike bust under the weight of the cement, they valiantly trooped on in the blistering sunshine to deliver the cement to us. Then David headed back with the trike to fix the puncture while Hugh and Kirsten accompanied him with wheelbarrows to pick up more aggregate!! Luckily some neighbours had a delivery of aggregate unused (only in Pisco!) and agreed to lend it to us, so between that and the deliveries from Hugh and Kirsten we managed to produce enough concrete for the final floor! Big high fives all round, it was an awesome day, physically exhausting but well worth it!!
Well after the euphoria of the day's work we all looked forward to a beer. It was also Nathan's last night, another volunteer we had become good friends with, so that was all the excuses we needed for a good 'ole celebration!Friday was a slightly hungover day!! David and I took different approaches to this, he decided to sweat it out on another concrete pour while I opted for a sedate day, cooking dinner with Kirsten and Simon (resident chef). This basically meant another trip to the market, following Simon around as he decided what he wanted to cook, then an afternoon of shelling peas and chopping veggies...with an hour break for a snooze!!
Saturday morning we all headed over to the modular house where we had poured the concrete floor, to move the house back onto its new concrete base. It was great to see the family moving their furniture back in, happy with their new floor!
Monday, I took part in another concrete pour, unfortunately this was not to go so smoothly as the previous! This was part of the 'Miracle Floors project', the charity had raised money throughout the year through various events and had decided to spend the money providing concrete floors to a number of families in the Alameda district of Pisco. When we arrived at the first home in the project, the aggregate mix of sand and stone was yet to be delivered, despite being ordered the previous week. This meant we couldn't really get started until 11am, then about 30mins in, the mixer broke down. As we had started pouring the back room floors for one house we wanted to ensure the room was finished, which meant about 2 hours of hand mixing concrete!! We finally stopped for lunch around 3pm, when (hurrah!) the mixer was returned in full working order. So we got back on track at 4pm finishing the remaining floors in house number one and continuing on through sunset to complete all the floors in house number two. We returned to the volunteer house just after 7pm, very tired, hungry and with aching muscles!
After the strenuous day previously, I was back on the Tupac Amaru School project for my final day...it proved to be a good choice as it was a fun day of sanding and painting desks!
Wednesday, our final day at PSF!! After 3 ½ weeks of work and play we were sad to be leaving all the fantastic volunteers. The management team do such a fantastic job, we both have a profound respect for these people who dedicate their time selflessly to the aid of others. Our time there allowed us to meet so many lovely people from all over the world, we feel very privileged to have been part of the PSF family!
Friday 7 May 2010
Cusco, Machu Picchu and Nazca
There were several options/classes of bus from Puno to Cusco and it's safe to say we made a mistake. We opted for the cheapest option instead of one of the several 'tourist only' operators whose trips include a buffet lunch and several stop offs at places of interest on route. We figured we were in for a rough ride when instead of the mini bus we'd been promised, the agent we bought the tickets off turned up in a cab to take us to the bus station! Sitting on the bus we found the painted on air vents didn't open but were relieved to have opening windows. Our concern deepened when we were handed tickets for our luggage although they didn't attach anything to the actual bags..?!?! This meant that at every stop (there were lots of them, David spent his time next to the luggage hold keeping an eye on things)!
It was soon evident that it was a very touristy city but one where you could really relax in and enjoy good food, drink and views on every street! We were also very happy to find that Machu Picchu was to open it's doors to the public once again after being closed following serious landslides several months before. This was an unexpected surprise and we made it our immediate mission to book on a trek there asap. We were introduced by the hostel staff to Pepe, a tour guide whose “office” was just down the road. Pepe was to prove a bit rogue but his pitch for his jungle trek to Machu Picchu worked on us! After checking out a few other high street tourist agencies who offered the more popular alternative Inka treks we opted to go with Pepe. Initially we were set to leave on the 28th but due to the ineptitude of the Peruvian Government who decided to delay the opening to the public, we ended up leaving on the 1st April. This meant that we had seven nights in the city before embarking.
After some expert nursing from Lynne, he was ready to leave the hostel after a few days and we celebrated by taking Pepe up on his offer to go off and explore the immediate surrounding hills of Cusco and some recently (three years ago) uncovered Inka and Pre-Inka ruins. We went with a couple of other Swedish girls (one whom Pepe has a history with) and enjoyed our first glimpse of the kind of temple ruins that surround the city and the Sacred Valley. Pepe proved to be an interesting guide who was very spiritual and knowledgeable about the ancient rituals and temples. This cemented our decision to go with him for our trek to Machu Picchu. 
Unfortunately before long, the weather closed in and we started to make our way back towards town. Arriving back in town, Pepe invited us in for a coffee and tea, David accepted on behalf of us both so he could investigate where such a random soul lives. His place was covered in drawings he had done of his past girlfriends and others he had taken on tours. In between these were many other pictures and drawings. After one cup of cocoa tea and some random conversations it was evident that Lynne needed to get out of there!!
2nd April: In the morning we awoke a little later than planned and after enjoying an excellent breakfast (bananas in pancakes with honey and plenty of fruit and hot drinks) We set off at 8:30. Our driver for the first part of the journey informed us he'd only be able to take us a short distance because of a landslide that occurred early that morning! After five mins in the car we were facing the landslide and we had to climb not only over this but another few smaller ones past it before we able to enter the jungle path. This would be a sign of things to come.
Pepe was soon in his zone teaching us about all the plants and fruits of the jungle letting us try them as we went. This was how the morning went until 1pm where we stopped for lunch at a local farmers house, a friend of Pepe's since he lived in the area many years ago. Here we enjoyed some fantastic food and yet more local fruit concoctions. The afternoon took us higher up onto an original Inka trek that offered some incredibly beautiful views of the valley we were walking. At some of these beauty spots it also allowed Pepe to teach us about meditation and some ancient Inka rituals. Interesting, although each time we had to sit and wait for him to finish his own meditation session!
It was later in the afternoon that we started to realise that Pepe wasn't so sure what state his usual route was in following the worst rainy season in a decade that has meant all these areas have been closed for the past two months. It really hit home as we crossed two very recent landslides in succession before we met a fast flowing river, looking across the rushing rapids we could see the road on the other side we had to get too – the bridge had been destroyed in the recent rains!!! 
By this time is was approaching 
4:30pm and darkness would soon be upon us. With Pepe looking further up stream and then talking about hiking to the top of the mountain behind us to find a road we took a group decision and decided to attempt a crossing using the logs on the rocks around us. After an immense group effort we lifted a huge log up and over and threw it across the rapids....unfortunately it fractured ¾ across. It did however give us a stable-ish platform against which we could lean against and plough through the stomach high rapids. Well, it enabled Pepe, both of us and Kaysie to cross before it suddenly broke under the strength of the water and disappeared down stream – very luckily no-one was crossing when it went! With Jen & Joe still stranded on the other side we had to find a new plan – the best and only really option was to form a human chain across the water at a point further up with Pepe and David in the middle and using another smaller log Jennie & Joe would hold onto us and cross behind us...it worked and soon enough we were all across, very wet but very relieved!! What an adventure this was turning out to be!
It was now past 5 and Pepe told us that the we just needed to walk the road for 1 ½ hours to arrive at our destination for the evening – Santa Theresa. Unfortunately for us, Pepe was absolutely useless at timings (the fact he doesn't have a watch suggests we should have seen this coming). We were soon enough walking in pitch darkness with no town in sight. By 6:45 we had found room in passing vehicles for the girls which left David, Joe & Pepe walking. We gave up listening to Pepe's estimates but were fortunate enough to be picked up by a passing truck that got us into town before 8pm. We were all exhausted after a long day and ate very well in the restaurant of Pepe's friend enjoying a few beers. We were supposed to be camping this night but we told Pepe there was no chance of that now it was dark and the campsite would require a walk out of town, so he found us lodgings in a hostel. That night the rain returned with even more force!!
3rd April: After breakfast we found a driver for the morning's drive but were not surprised to hear that there had been two more large landslides only a few hours earlier which meant we would walking further than planned once again, today with our rucksacks and tents! Initially however, Pepe wanted to go down into the bottom of the valley to inspect the damage to the Hot Springs during the major landslide that destroyed so much of the area. This was where we were meant to camp for the previous evening! 
From the photos we have seen of it it looked like an a
mazing place to relax so we were gutted to hear of its destruction. Jennie and Kaysie decided to give it a miss so we left for the one and a half hour walk with Pepe and Joe. Down on the valley floor we crossed loads of boulders that had fallen during the landslides and watched the cliff sides as many more crashed down either side of us. When we arrived at the hot springs there was nothing but rubble – everything had been destroyed, the pools, car park, road, restaurant and lodgings. We did however find two small puddles of the crystal clear hot spring water that had found its way up through the rocks. Following Pepe's pitch about its health benefits it didn't take David long to roll out the speedos and give it a go! The walk back up the steep valley side was very tough and we made it back to Santa Theresa just in time for lunch!
The Peruvians are very relaxed about timings and so it wasn't a shock that we left the town almost an hour late. Exiting the car we had to walk over the landslides before making our way to the public river crossing in the hot, hot sun!! After an hour or so we arrived at the crossing and joined the queue. This 
i
s a river crossing we have never seen the likes of before. It was like a theme park death slide where three people sat in a metal crate and after the initial momentum ended you helped pull yourself in with the aid of some locals at either end! Lynne was fairly unnerved by it and didn't particularly enjoy the ride across!! The queue was almost an hour long due to the slow manual process but by the time it was our time the queue was much larger than when we arrived! At least it gave us a rest and some enjoyment watching some of the daredevil locals stand on the edge as they travelled across.
On the other side we were meant to be picked up by car once again but as you may have guessed due to the destruction in the area the area was not accessible by car anymore. So onwards we marched in the roasting heat to Hydro where the train line to the town of Agua Caliente and Machu Picchu starts. The extra weight of the bags, distance walked and heat meant everyone was feeling tired now and with the approaching darkness we were looking to Pepe for guidance. He didn't seem to have much more clue than us unfortunately and after narrowly missing a train and the realisation we would be walking in darkness for the second night running and would have to pitch our tents in torch light meant Pepe wasn't the most popular person in the group!
Luckily, we had brought along our own tent even after Pepe told us he had a two and a four man tent, when in reality he had two three man tents but his had a broken pole which meant it was half the size inside and not waterproof!! Just another example of how unorganised he really was, the fact he never checked the tent or more likely he forgot about it or just couldn't be bothered fixing it – in short if we hadn't had brought ours I doubt any of us would have got any sleep!! We realised soon enough we weren't the only ones hiking in dark as a trail of some 20 or so hikers passed in the darkness as we prepared for bed. For all these lost and tired souls we provided a top up of water from the fresh water pipes the site had available. These poor guys heading for Agua Caliente must have reached town very late at night!
4th April: We had planned to get up at 4am to start the hike to Machu Picchu, however when we woke in the morning to rain Pepe decided that we would delay our hike an hour as we wouldn't be able to see sunrise through the clouds. We eventually set off around 6am, the walk there took an hour and a half, the first 30 minutes were a leisurely walk along the train tracks, followed by an hour of intensely steep climbing to the main entrance in high humidity! At the top other tourists were laughing as we sat there catching our breath and quite literally steaming!! After recovering our breath we headed inside and were greeted with the amazing views of this unique place. Being there early we were able to enjoy it with relatively few people around.
The first stop was the trek to the top of Wayna Picchu - the tall sacred peak that towers over the site. Before this, Pepe told us about Machu Picchu and the many different theories surrounding its purpose. The walk to the top of Wayna Picchu took one hour and was steeper than anything we had walked before. Quite how the Inkas built this staircase and the buildings at the top is astonishing! By the time we reached the peak we were once more absolutely shattered (especially as we hadn't eaten a proper meal since lunchtime the day before!) but the views are simply incredible. 
Not only the town of Machu Picchu but the surrounding green valleys and mountains are truly dramatic. The clouds form several thin layers and created a very mystical feeling. Pepe had made the climb with us but he left as soon as we reached the top so he could head to Agua Caliente to pick up some hot lunch for us and find out if there were any spaces on the trains to Cusco – we arranged to meet him at 2pm. This gave us a few hours to climb down and explore the town (but first we headed to the cafe outside for some much needed snacks!).
Walking round the ruins it's hard to comprehend just how this place was constructed, particularly after witnessing first hand how hard the climb is! The site was gradually becoming more busy with the arrival of the large tours but it was easy to find fairly secluded places to relax and take in the views. The brickwork was really astonishing, similar to that found in Cusco and is testament to the industrial minded people of the Inkas.
We returned to the cafe outside the park to meet Pepe who had actually come through for once with hot food and a replenished supply of water. He also had news regarding our return to Cusco; there were no trains for several days but the landslides between Santa Maria and Cusco had been cleared and so the way was clear to return the way we had come. There was always the risk of further landslides the next night but we decided to camp again at the same campsite (with the promise from Pepe the owner would be there to cook us dinner) and early the next day head off back to Santa Teresa from where we would get a bus all the way back to Cusco.
The walk back was very relaxed and all down hill with us returning to camp, before dark for once! We were relieved to meet the owner of the site and before settling down for the dinner she had cooked we all had a brief power nap! We ate dinner in her house but because of the threat of powerful neighbouring river destroying her home she keeps all her furniture in a storage shed during the rainy season, as a result we ate off plates on our knees sat on tree logs using our headtorches for light...but after such a wonderful experience we happy just to have warm food and drink whilst discussing the days adventure.
5th April: Spirits were high as we set off early to head back knowing we'd (hopefully) be back in Cusco with a warm shower, beer and good food by evening! The walk back to Hydro along the train tracks and then onto the cable car crossing took under 2 hours and we were very relieved to find no queue at the crossing. Once across the river we had to negotiate a fresh landslide from the morning and there was a brief panic when Kaysie fell waist deep in the mud and got stuck with the looming overhang of rocks cracked and ready to fall, fortunately there were several locals walking near us who ran in and pulled her out before any of us could react. The road we walked on a few days from Santa Teresa had also been badly damaged this morning ans so we were forced to walk back to town through the valley bottom. This was aided by a few locals we hired for a few soles to guide us and get us across another cable car crossing. With the town in site we sensed the end and after a short steep climb into town from the valley bottom we headed straight for a restaurant and ordered a well deserved beer!!
10th April: Up early we jumped on a local bus to the nearby Mirador where you can view several of the famous lines. This was after deciding against the airplane trip due to the expense and the fact we have been warned about the lack of safety and comfort. The Mirador however was one of the most unusual and disappointing attractions of this trip. It consists of a rusty old tower at the side of the road that isn't actually that high and to climb you have to pay a small amount for the privilege. We laughed about it with a couple of British travellers who also made the journey. 
Spending no more than ten minutes at the site we flagged down a local bus and returned to town before midday. The rest of the day was spent at the Nazca Lines Hotel (the only posh hotel in the town) where for 20 soles (~ £5) we enjoyed lunch, drink and use of the pool for the rest of the day, this was a great way to relax and escape the heat of the day! That evening we relaxed with a home cooked meal and looked forward to starting our volunteering in Pisco.
Once the bus left it took only an hour or so before it broke down leaving us stranded for over an hour. Once fixed, the bus filled with the locals, mainly the women (bowler hats included!). Each seemed to bring with them several large bags of maize that filled the bus's hold and meant the sitting area was filled with the excess! The bus was then stopped for a search by Peruvian police who between the 15 of them performed the most lack lustre effort at searching we've ever seen (a far cry from those Brazilian amazonian patrols we experienced months ago!) and we were especially entertained by the fact as soon as the other passengers realised the police were boarding there was wide spread panic as they all ran around the bus hiding bags of who only knows what!! To delay us even further a lorry had broken down in one town jack knifed across a junction!!
When we finally arriving into Cusco we jumped in a cab to the San Blas area of town where we headed for The Sami Wasi II Hostel. Central Cusco is really beautiful, with small cobbled streets stretching as far as one would want to walk up the valley hills it is built on.
When we finally arriving into Cusco we jumped in a cab to the San Blas area of town where we headed for The Sami Wasi II Hostel. Central Cusco is really beautiful, with small cobbled streets stretching as far as one would want to walk up the valley hills it is built on. 
It was soon evident that it was a very touristy city but one where you could really relax in and enjoy good food, drink and views on every street! We were also very happy to find that Machu Picchu was to open it's doors to the public once again after being closed following serious landslides several months before. This was an unexpected surprise and we made it our immediate mission to book on a trek there asap. We were introduced by the hostel staff to Pepe, a tour guide whose “office” was just down the road. Pepe was to prove a bit rogue but his pitch for his jungle trek to Machu Picchu worked on us! After checking out a few other high street tourist agencies who offered the more popular alternative Inka treks we opted to go with Pepe. Initially we were set to leave on the 28th but due to the ineptitude of the Peruvian Government who decided to delay the opening to the public, we ended up leaving on the 1st April. This meant that we had seven nights in the city before embarking.The first night there we enjoyed an evening out with Eduardo and Carolina (the Mexican couple from the Salt Plains tour) who we had caught up here. The next day was spent exploring but unfortunately after eating eggs David contracted a bout of food poisoning. It hit in the evening and didn't really clear up until we started the trek on the 1st!
After some expert nursing from Lynne, he was ready to leave the hostel after a few days and we celebrated by taking Pepe up on his offer to go off and explore the immediate surrounding hills of Cusco and some recently (three years ago) uncovered Inka and Pre-Inka ruins. We went with a couple of other Swedish girls (one whom Pepe has a history with) and enjoyed our first glimpse of the kind of temple ruins that surround the city and the Sacred Valley. Pepe proved to be an interesting guide who was very spiritual and knowledgeable about the ancient rituals and temples. This cemented our decision to go with him for our trek to Machu Picchu. 
Unfortunately before long, the weather closed in and we started to make our way back towards town. Arriving back in town, Pepe invited us in for a coffee and tea, David accepted on behalf of us both so he could investigate where such a random soul lives. His place was covered in drawings he had done of his past girlfriends and others he had taken on tours. In between these were many other pictures and drawings. After one cup of cocoa tea and some random conversations it was evident that Lynne needed to get out of there!! The next day we met up with Jen & Joe who had moved into the hostel next door. After introducing them to Pepe we had two more signed up for the hike, to celebrate we enjoyed a few drinks down on the Plaza de Armas. With one day to go before the hike we rested up, as David wasn't feeling too great once more, and spent some time buying essentials before briefly meeting with Enzo (from Montevideo).
So the 1st April came round and we set off for our hike at 5pm-ish. We initially met at Pepe's office and sheltered from the pouring rain. The driver was meant to meet us here but Pepe had to go running off to find him when he wasn't answering his phone- a sign of things to come. Once he did return he ordered us to head around the corner to the van..so we did this and when a driver outside herded us into his brand new huge Mercedes van we thought it was too good to be true......it was! We had infact jumped into another tour's bus and realised as soon as we saw Pepe walking away from us down the street ahead!! So we jumped out the van and pursued him down the street to the van which we were actually taking! Luckily, it wasn't too bad at all! So began the “five” hour journey to Santa Maria...the journey in fact took us seven hours but included a dinner stop and a few night time tours of Inka ruins on route! That night we stayed in a hostel in Santa Maria, we were a bit apprehensive getting on the van on the dirt road as the hostel seemed half finished and the owner didn't seem to be expecting us, however it worked out fine and we all found a bed for the night!
2nd April: In the morning we awoke a little later than planned and after enjoying an excellent breakfast (bananas in pancakes with honey and plenty of fruit and hot drinks) We set off at 8:30. Our driver for the first part of the journey informed us he'd only be able to take us a short distance because of a landslide that occurred early that morning! After five mins in the car we were facing the landslide and we had to climb not only over this but another few smaller ones past it before we able to enter the jungle path. This would be a sign of things to come. 
Pepe was soon in his zone teaching us about all the plants and fruits of the jungle letting us try them as we went. This was how the morning went until 1pm where we stopped for lunch at a local farmers house, a friend of Pepe's since he lived in the area many years ago. Here we enjoyed some fantastic food and yet more local fruit concoctions. The afternoon took us higher up onto an original Inka trek that offered some incredibly beautiful views of the valley we were walking. At some of these beauty spots it also allowed Pepe to teach us about meditation and some ancient Inka rituals. Interesting, although each time we had to sit and wait for him to finish his own meditation session!
It was later in the afternoon that we started to realise that Pepe wasn't so sure what state his usual route was in following the worst rainy season in a decade that has meant all these areas have been closed for the past two months. It really hit home as we crossed two very recent landslides in succession before we met a fast flowing river, looking across the rushing rapids we could see the road on the other side we had to get too – the bridge had been destroyed in the recent rains!!! 
By this time is was approaching 
4:30pm and darkness would soon be upon us. With Pepe looking further up stream and then talking about hiking to the top of the mountain behind us to find a road we took a group decision and decided to attempt a crossing using the logs on the rocks around us. After an immense group effort we lifted a huge log up and over and threw it across the rapids....unfortunately it fractured ¾ across. It did however give us a stable-ish platform against which we could lean against and plough through the stomach high rapids. Well, it enabled Pepe, both of us and Kaysie to cross before it suddenly broke under the strength of the water and disappeared down stream – very luckily no-one was crossing when it went! With Jen & Joe still stranded on the other side we had to find a new plan – the best and only really option was to form a human chain across the water at a point further up with Pepe and David in the middle and using another smaller log Jennie & Joe would hold onto us and cross behind us...it worked and soon enough we were all across, very wet but very relieved!! What an adventure this was turning out to be! 
It was now past 5 and Pepe told us that the we just needed to walk the road for 1 ½ hours to arrive at our destination for the evening – Santa Theresa. Unfortunately for us, Pepe was absolutely useless at timings (the fact he doesn't have a watch suggests we should have seen this coming). We were soon enough walking in pitch darkness with no town in sight. By 6:45 we had found room in passing vehicles for the girls which left David, Joe & Pepe walking. We gave up listening to Pepe's estimates but were fortunate enough to be picked up by a passing truck that got us into town before 8pm. We were all exhausted after a long day and ate very well in the restaurant of Pepe's friend enjoying a few beers. We were supposed to be camping this night but we told Pepe there was no chance of that now it was dark and the campsite would require a walk out of town, so he found us lodgings in a hostel. That night the rain returned with even more force!!
3rd April: After breakfast we found a driver for the morning's drive but were not surprised to hear that there had been two more large landslides only a few hours earlier which meant we would walking further than planned once again, today with our rucksacks and tents! Initially however, Pepe wanted to go down into the bottom of the valley to inspect the damage to the Hot Springs during the major landslide that destroyed so much of the area. This was where we were meant to camp for the previous evening! 
From the photos we have seen of it it looked like an a
mazing place to relax so we were gutted to hear of its destruction. Jennie and Kaysie decided to give it a miss so we left for the one and a half hour walk with Pepe and Joe. Down on the valley floor we crossed loads of boulders that had fallen during the landslides and watched the cliff sides as many more crashed down either side of us. When we arrived at the hot springs there was nothing but rubble – everything had been destroyed, the pools, car park, road, restaurant and lodgings. We did however find two small puddles of the crystal clear hot spring water that had found its way up through the rocks. Following Pepe's pitch about its health benefits it didn't take David long to roll out the speedos and give it a go! The walk back up the steep valley side was very tough and we made it back to Santa Theresa just in time for lunch!
The Peruvians are very relaxed about timings and so it wasn't a shock that we left the town almost an hour late. Exiting the car we had to walk over the landslides before making our way to the public river crossing in the hot, hot sun!! After an hour or so we arrived at the crossing and joined the queue. This 
i
s a river crossing we have never seen the likes of before. It was like a theme park death slide where three people sat in a metal crate and after the initial momentum ended you helped pull yourself in with the aid of some locals at either end! Lynne was fairly unnerved by it and didn't particularly enjoy the ride across!! The queue was almost an hour long due to the slow manual process but by the time it was our time the queue was much larger than when we arrived! At least it gave us a rest and some enjoyment watching some of the daredevil locals stand on the edge as they travelled across. 
On the other side we were meant to be picked up by car once again but as you may have guessed due to the destruction in the area the area was not accessible by car anymore. So onwards we marched in the roasting heat to Hydro where the train line to the town of Agua Caliente and Machu Picchu starts. The extra weight of the bags, distance walked and heat meant everyone was feeling tired now and with the approaching darkness we were looking to Pepe for guidance. He didn't seem to have much more clue than us unfortunately and after narrowly missing a train and the realisation we would be walking in darkness for the second night running and would have to pitch our tents in torch light meant Pepe wasn't the most popular person in the group!After an hour and a half walking along the train track we arrived at the camp site to become further frustrated with Pepe! The owner of the campsite was not at home – he hadn't told her we were coming and just assumed she'd be there! This meant that we had no dinner as she was the cook when you stayed there! After a slightly heated debate about what to do, either set camp and stay or to walk a further hour to Agua Caliente and stay in a hostel, we opted to stay there as we were all tired and settle with bread, tuna and cheese for dinner. It was almost unbelievable how oblivious Pepe was to our disappointment as he maintained he wanted to show us the beautiful gardens of the camp site and waterfall before telling us a story – we swiftly pointed out that it was pitch black so we couldn't see anything and that we weren't interested in any story at the time!!
Luckily, we had brought along our own tent even after Pepe told us he had a two and a four man tent, when in reality he had two three man tents but his had a broken pole which meant it was half the size inside and not waterproof!! Just another example of how unorganised he really was, the fact he never checked the tent or more likely he forgot about it or just couldn't be bothered fixing it – in short if we hadn't had brought ours I doubt any of us would have got any sleep!! We realised soon enough we weren't the only ones hiking in dark as a trail of some 20 or so hikers passed in the darkness as we prepared for bed. For all these lost and tired souls we provided a top up of water from the fresh water pipes the site had available. These poor guys heading for Agua Caliente must have reached town very late at night!The other dilemma we had was returning to Cusco. Initially all visitors to Machu Picchu required a return train ticket to Cusco and we had purchased these with Pepe. However, as soon as the Government changed their position on this, Pepe had sold them back but now this meant we would have to walk back (due to the landslides) the way we came or face an alternative seven hour hike. This went down very badly with the group as it became very evident that Pepe is completely disorganised and clueless!! Pepe tried to rectify the situation by walking alone to Agua Caliente to pick up food for breakfast and to try and purchase train tickets to Cusco whilst we nestled down to sleep.
4th April: We had planned to get up at 4am to start the hike to Machu Picchu, however when we woke in the morning to rain Pepe decided that we would delay our hike an hour as we wouldn't be able to see sunrise through the clouds. We eventually set off around 6am, the walk there took an hour and a half, the first 30 minutes were a leisurely walk along the train tracks, followed by an hour of intensely steep climbing to the main entrance in high humidity! At the top other tourists were laughing as we sat there catching our breath and quite literally steaming!! After recovering our breath we headed inside and were greeted with the amazing views of this unique place. Being there early we were able to enjoy it with relatively few people around.
The first stop was the trek to the top of Wayna Picchu - the tall sacred peak that towers over the site. Before this, Pepe told us about Machu Picchu and the many different theories surrounding its purpose. The walk to the top of Wayna Picchu took one hour and was steeper than anything we had walked before. Quite how the Inkas built this staircase and the buildings at the top is astonishing! By the time we reached the peak we were once more absolutely shattered (especially as we hadn't eaten a proper meal since lunchtime the day before!) but the views are simply incredible. 
Not only the town of Machu Picchu but the surrounding green valleys and mountains are truly dramatic. The clouds form several thin layers and created a very mystical feeling. Pepe had made the climb with us but he left as soon as we reached the top so he could head to Agua Caliente to pick up some hot lunch for us and find out if there were any spaces on the trains to Cusco – we arranged to meet him at 2pm. This gave us a few hours to climb down and explore the town (but first we headed to the cafe outside for some much needed snacks!).
Walking round the ruins it's hard to comprehend just how this place was constructed, particularly after witnessing first hand how hard the climb is! The site was gradually becoming more busy with the arrival of the large tours but it was easy to find fairly secluded places to relax and take in the views. The brickwork was really astonishing, similar to that found in Cusco and is testament to the industrial minded people of the Inkas. 
We returned to the cafe outside the park to meet Pepe who had actually come through for once with hot food and a replenished supply of water. He also had news regarding our return to Cusco; there were no trains for several days but the landslides between Santa Maria and Cusco had been cleared and so the way was clear to return the way we had come. There was always the risk of further landslides the next night but we decided to camp again at the same campsite (with the promise from Pepe the owner would be there to cook us dinner) and early the next day head off back to Santa Teresa from where we would get a bus all the way back to Cusco. 
The walk back was very relaxed and all down hill with us returning to camp, before dark for once! We were relieved to meet the owner of the site and before settling down for the dinner she had cooked we all had a brief power nap! We ate dinner in her house but because of the threat of powerful neighbouring river destroying her home she keeps all her furniture in a storage shed during the rainy season, as a result we ate off plates on our knees sat on tree logs using our headtorches for light...but after such a wonderful experience we happy just to have warm food and drink whilst discussing the days adventure.
5th April: Spirits were high as we set off early to head back knowing we'd (hopefully) be back in Cusco with a warm shower, beer and good food by evening! The walk back to Hydro along the train tracks and then onto the cable car crossing took under 2 hours and we were very relieved to find no queue at the crossing. Once across the river we had to negotiate a fresh landslide from the morning and there was a brief panic when Kaysie fell waist deep in the mud and got stuck with the looming overhang of rocks cracked and ready to fall, fortunately there were several locals walking near us who ran in and pulled her out before any of us could react. The road we walked on a few days from Santa Teresa had also been badly damaged this morning ans so we were forced to walk back to town through the valley bottom. This was aided by a few locals we hired for a few soles to guide us and get us across another cable car crossing. With the town in site we sensed the end and after a short steep climb into town from the valley bottom we headed straight for a restaurant and ordered a well deserved beer!!It took a frustrating hour to chase our driver to get going by 2pm in order to avoid a large storm we could see approaching slowly from down the valley – with the number of landslides on these roads we did not want to be on the mountain side in the rain!! We shared the mini bus with a group of Peruvian students – the poor boys must not have enjoyed our accompanying smell!! We won't ramble on about this journey back but it provided the worst three hours of our trip so far. In daylight you could see just how much damage these landslides cause and the road is built into the steepest rock faces we have ever seen. When approaching some corners you could see cracks beneath the road and on several occasions we were stuck in mud where a landslide had been cleared and the back tyres skidded towards the edge of the cliff – we were all on edge and close to screaming! The stretch between Santa Maria and Santa Teresa is frequently closed because of landslides and one that most tour operators tell you to avoid due to how dangerous it is – we only found this out upon our return to Cusco! There were two instances where the van became stuck in mud/water and we slid precariously close to the edge as the driver tried to correct things! This was two instances too many.
We were very relieved to arrive back in Cusco and after saying our goodbyes to Kaysie we all made our way to the same hostel to escape the tiring Pepe and get ready to head out for some food at Jacks Cafe!! We were all so tired that after one beer we were ready for bed and departed with the promise of a celebration tomorrow!!
6th April: After a well deserved lie-in we met Joe and Jen early afternoon to head down to the Plaza De Armas and settle in Nortons Pub for some food and beers during some Champions League action! After the game we made use of the darts boards before enjoying a few drinks at the hostel and a night out on the town!
7th April: Returning from the night out at a very ungodly hour today was spent sleeping it off and filling our faces with some good food!
8th April: The day of our departure from Cusco. Leaving in the afternoon we spent the day doing a few chores in town before meeting Joe and Jen at Paddy's Pub for a farewell meal. We were sad to leave Cusco after a fantastic time but looking forward to moving onto the Nazca for some sunshine!
9th April: The bus journey was slightly delayed so we arrived by mid morning. Nazca is a very small town and appears to be dependent on the tourist trade which the near by Nazca lines attracts. The heat was the first thing we noticed and it felt good to be back in flip flops and vest weather after the chilliness of Bolivia and Cusco. Deciding that we'd check out the Nazca lines tomorrow we headed for Brabants Hostel and settled in. Strolling round the town centre didn't take long so we enjoyed spending some time sampling the local cakes and empanadas before heading back to relax and cook dinner, a pleasant change after too much time spent in pubs and cafes.
10th April: Up early we jumped on a local bus to the nearby Mirador where you can view several of the famous lines. This was after deciding against the airplane trip due to the expense and the fact we have been warned about the lack of safety and comfort. The Mirador however was one of the most unusual and disappointing attractions of this trip. It consists of a rusty old tower at the side of the road that isn't actually that high and to climb you have to pay a small amount for the privilege. We laughed about it with a couple of British travellers who also made the journey. 
Spending no more than ten minutes at the site we flagged down a local bus and returned to town before midday. The rest of the day was spent at the Nazca Lines Hotel (the only posh hotel in the town) where for 20 soles (~ £5) we enjoyed lunch, drink and use of the pool for the rest of the day, this was a great way to relax and escape the heat of the day! That evening we relaxed with a home cooked meal and looked forward to starting our volunteering in Pisco.
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