on the road again

Because as I had gotten back from Piura I unpacked only to repack my bags and go to Ancash to spend 10 days climbing around 10 different communities supervising volunteers working in the highlands of the Andes. I took what is supposedly voted one of the most dangerous roads in the world for ten hours on windy roads with a beautiful view of the highest mountain of Peru for the majority of the trip. It is incredible to see the dedication of volunteers in a zone where the community speaks the local dialect Quechua and they have had to learn a bit of that language or use translators to be able to work, where mothers are illiterate and have not completed elementary school. They face the challenges of altitude, harsh sun, freezing weather and isolation. But they are also seriously provoking development in these areas. I was waking up each day at 5 am to be able to catch the only transportation of the day up to these really remote towns, huffing and puffing with a lack of oxygen and getting wind chapped and sunburnt each day. I visited a kid whose site made me cry. It was just soo far out and he can only walk in and out 4 hours to get to the nearest city. Rough life. Then I had to hike off to the next towns at least an hour and a half with my backpack early in the mornings. Gorgeous scenery and inspired by the success that each of the volunteers have and their positive attitudes I could not even really feel the fatigue. But then I got literally 125 flea bites in one night and was suffering for the rest of the trip and accidentally left fleas in my friend's bed when I went to see her. In my last visit I saw the most unreal situation where people are still living in like 1920 and 80% of the population was chronically malnourished and had the hardest time fathoming how that sort of living situation could still exist. But the community was like 4 hours up and back completely isolated and the health worker commented that people slept with their pigs. It was the first time I saw what I considered to be even more extreme than extreme poverty. When I got back to Lima I started training 3 days a week learning Mixed Marcial Arts so I am in the best shape of my life possibly. My friend's grandparents came to visit so I had some lovely meals and took in some of the tourist attractions like getting to go to a place that does the traditional dances of Peru which made me wish that I could work there as a dancer. We had the most entertaining taxi ride where her grams was hitting on the driver and since she spoke a little spanish and her husband didnt she was flirting pretty shamelessly. She sang him songs and told the driver that my friend and I were dating the grandpa and she was single. The driver said her grandpa looked like Hue Heffner making us girls the playboy bunnies. The rest of the night her grandfather was speaking in Italian to my boyfriend who was trying to speak english and I kept translating everything in spanish. Somewhere lost in translation we learned a little of each language but we all enjoyed going salsa dancing together. Work is normal. Then out of the blue this girl that I used to do yoga with in Ft collins started working in Lima as a volunteer too. So we have been enjoying coffee dates and getting a new perspective on development as she did her service in Paraguay. Then I was back off to Trujillo to visit another volunteer got my hands dirty again working with cement and we got stuck walking 2 hours in rain down the mountain. Man sometimes I wonder how we make it through as volunteers we get inhumanly strong and nerves unshakable you see that all that matters at the end of the day is getting the job done, solve a problem and keep solving until it is fixed no second guessing yourself no wishing things were different. Within 48 hours back to Lima then off to vacations. I went to the Amazon Jungle for like a week we took a 10 hour boat ride deep into the Jungle where there were only 5 communities in total the majority with less than 100 people and house on stilts with palm tree roofs and no electricity. In the night time we would go looking for animals we saw sloths, monkies, pink dolphins, grey dolphins, crocodiles, countless birds, frogs, tarantulas and big bugs. It was incredibly relaxing and you completely disconnect from the outside world no cell phone service no stores. Taking showers in the river or in tropical rain storms hanging out in the hammock. We went hiking during the day and at night time with flash lights in search of wildlife. We saw the world's largest cockroaches. We drank water from tree roots we collect fruit and climbed up huge trees using electrician techniques we mucked through the mud and shin deep waters. During the day we would  We had to go fishing to get lunch and caught piranhas and other fish. You would have been proud Uncle Bill I taught a girl how to fish and she ended up catching more than anyone. She was surprised a city girl knew how to fish. I said it was the many trips and lessons you had given me. Happy Birthday! Getting back into the city we got to go to a butterfly farm, a monkey island where I got jumped on and bit not bad enough to break the skin but still crazy, we saw in the rescue center a jaguar and other wild cats plus I got to feed and touch manatees. It was a really beautiful trip and not too hot the food could have been better but we did harvest heart of palm and ate it in salads amazing that canned stuff does no justice. It was much needed relaxing. Now I am back in Lima with no serious plans to travel because my trip to Cajamarca was cancelled for the conflicts that are happening there hopefully I will be able to get out there in August to visit the volunteers everyone is safe but it makes working impossible as everyone is on strike and sometimes EVERYTHING is close highways, schools, health centers, municipalities, stores, everything. But on the big news front I did move into a new apartment the 5th and top floor with a sweet balcony and ocean view (sort of) and more space a lovely kitchen and a big comfy bed. It is such a better situation than the small room that was worse than mom's cave. so happy! well thats all for now back to work, training and probably not to far in the future more traveling. Be well. Have fun Uncle Bill glad to hear about the changes you have made.