Mildura 2 Lima

Closing down...

2009-01-13T16:40:00.001-05:00

It's all over!

2009-01-13T13:02:00.004-05:00

The year is completed, and what a year it has been!
Marco drove us to the airport on Wednesday evening and his wife and daughter, Yolanda and Trini, accompanied us in order for them to say a final goodbye. We were joined there by more of our special friends and I can assure you this did not help one bit when the time finally came to say goodbye to everyone! I keep saying it is impossible to work so closely with these people for a year and then just turn your back and walk away. We have to return some time in the future, even for a short visit.
As expected it is a huge culture shock to be back home. Great to be here but still so very different to what we have been used to for the past year.
Now for a belated Christmas celebration with our family - and that will be fun.

Farewell in Motupe.

2009-01-06T07:01:00.004-05:00

The Motupe parish team of Mick, Marg, Maria, Irma, Clare, Marion and Napa in the back row and Teresa, Lucy and Yeny in the front with Teresa’s daughter Lucero.
Mick McKinnon is the parish priest and Napa is a Columban priest from Tonga. Lucy is the parish social worker and supervisor of all the programs; she was also the instigator of this event! Marg and Clare are Josephite Sisters from Australia and New Zealand respectively. Teresa is the parish nurse and a fantastic nurse at that! Maria is her mother and she conducts extremely successful cooking classes in the parish centre. Irma is a Columban lay missionary and Yeny supports Lucy in the parish office.

The meal, provided by Maria and others, was enjoyed by all.

The final speeches and the presentations of our gifts will be treasured because of the strong and positive memories of the Motupe parish team.

The undoing of quite a few came about with Maria, Teresa, Lucy and Yeny singing the Spanish version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. It was very hard to say goodbye to such wonderful people.

The final pack up.

2009-01-05T18:08:00.004-05:00

Forty-eight hours to departure and Marion has the house virtually packed up already. All the pictures are off the wall and our books and other English resources have been distributed to a number of very grateful people. Various piles of furniture and other odds and ends are appearing in the main room. Their actual placement in the room depending on their future destinations. Some back to the Columbans, some to Mick, some to Leo and so forth!

I have been asked a few times when I am going to start packing and my response has never changed, it will be done before 6.00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon when Marco arrives with his taxi to take us to Jorge Chávez International Airport, Lima!

Feliz Año Nuevo.

2009-01-01T07:21:00.008-05:00

Feliz Año Nuevo – Happy New Year
The local people told us that if we thought celebrating the arrival of Christmas Day was rowdy just wait and see what happens when New Years Day ticks over.
We were not disappointed. It would have to have been the loudest and longest celebrations I have ever come across. The fireworks started intermittently early evening and then built up to the most sustained barrage lasting for almost forty-five minutes around midnight. Even as I write this blog around six in the morning an occasional explosion shatters the morning. ‘Shatters’ is a good term because I do not know what the actual sizes the fireworks manufacturers make and sell but they must be king size! I honestly believed the house rattled every now and then!
Looking down our road, please forgive the poor camera focus, it may have something to do with a shaking hand every time another 'bomb' exploded, however, you get a good idea of what was happening.

Next morning with the smoke and gun powder haze everywhere in the air.
We went outside at midnight and the whole area resembled a war zone, fires had been lit up and down the street, people running around and fireworks exploding everywhere. One strange thing we noticed was that over here the dogs seemed accustomed to the noise, not like back home.

Looking up the road from our front door.

Same view next morning.

In Lima yellow is the traditional colour for New Year and it began last night with this young man wearing a yellow T-shirt, yellow neck decoration and a yellow hat. Marion and I are prepared for today with our yellow ensembles!

Lunch at Pedregal Alto.

2009-01-01T06:42:00.005-05:00

Would you believe another social engagement in our ever filling social calendar? These final two weeks have been, and will continue to be socially hectic.
Our cook and host for the day was Imelda and she was supported by Nancy and Maritza.

The ladies had gone to a great deal of trouble to entertain us.

It was a simple yet delicious lunch with some of the ladies of Pedregal Alto, and their children and dogs. It was organised by Maritza, Nancy and Imelda. Imelda supplied all the food and it arrived by taxi in a huge plastic carry bag.

Marion, Nancy, Imelda and Maritza in the new community centre kitchen.
The two dishes were Papa a la Huancaina (wah-kai-eena) and Huacatay (wah-car-tie).
Papa a la Huancaina is a Peruvian salad of boiled yellow potatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce called Huancaina sauce. It is typically served over lettuce leaves and garnished with black olives, white corn kernels and hard boiled egg quarters. The sauce is made of fresh white cheese, vegetable oil, yellow Peruvian pepper, evaporated milk and salt mixed in a blender. Some recipes call for garlic, onion and crushed saltines. This salad is served cold, as a starter.
The second, Huacatay, I had not tasted before and it was superb. Pan cooked chicken pieces covered in a green Huacatay salsa. This sauce is a blend of green Huacatay leaves, small onions, garlic, peanuts, yellow pepper, egg, black olives and local cheese. Huacatay is not too far removed from our mint in both flavour and colour.

This really was the last time that we would walk away from the people of Pedregal Alto and they waved us goodbye as we trudged down the hill to catch a motor taxi home. We promised them that we would visit sometime in the future but as they say ‘cuando no se’ – don’t know when.

We both wonder how different the area will be if we do come back to visit in a few years time. More than likely the growth areas would have climbed up the surrounding valleys.

Montenegro sunset.

2008-12-31T08:22:00.006-05:00

All of a sudden something special happens in the sky over Montenegro and it alters the whole appearance of the area. The sunset tended to focus your eyes upwards rather than the usual downwards!

Maria's scone and pizza lesson.

2008-12-30T11:26:00.002-05:00

Maria teaches the young women of the Motupe parish simple recipes so that they in turn are able to bake some 'goodies' for sale. These weekly classes have proven to be extremely successful for all involved.

Marion promised to show Maria how to bake the humble scone as well as very tasty pizzas. These recipes are very simple and inexpensive to prepare. Maria was delighted with both the simplicity of preparation and the final taste test! I am sure they will be listed on the parish cooking list very shortly.

Pilar's party.

2008-12-29T10:41:00.009-05:00

Pilar had very graciously organised a lunch time party at her house for all the members of our first English class.
Our very first group for English celebrating and they are from left to right – Pilar, Trini, Maria Teresa, Marion, self, Juana, Paolo and Antonio. Joao and Claudia are in front and Gladys was the only person missing. She lives way up in Valle Sagrado and could not be contacted.

We had a delightful meal of champagne and ‘Lomo Saltado’ - a beef and onion stir fry mingled with French fries and served on rice. Absolutely hopeless for the diet but amazingly good for the taste buds!

All the group took turns to speak and what they said was amazing. Then they made a presentation to each of us of matching T-shirts with appropriate messages.
Marion’s reads ‘Soy la engreída de Perú’ – ‘I have embraced Peru’ and mine says ‘Yo vivo en Perú’ – ‘I live in Montenegro’ The joke behind mine is that this line was one of the very first I mastered in Spanish and the class continually loved to ask me where I lived, much to their amusement!

Are Paolo and Antonio enjoying themselves or are they planning ways of avoiding the dance floor?

As with every gathering we have attended dancing always takes a priority, the Peruvians just love to get up and dance. One of the favourites at this gathering was ‘The Macarena’, with all the right moves.

Joao was the DJ for the afternoon by supplying the music through the internet.

Pilar’s mother, Peta, took great delight in presenting me with one of her cuy, guinea pigs. She knows exactly what I think of cuy as a meal! This little fellow will not take too long before he is on the menu.

The park lawnmower!

2008-12-29T09:52:00.004-05:00

During the year the local workers have been doing a huge amount of work in re-greening the entire park area and they have done an excellent job. However, now that the sun is beginning to shine and there is warmth in the air the grass is really taking off. So much so they have had to 'employ' a lawnmower! I doubt if this fellow has ever had life so good!

Initially they had two working on the grass, no there is only one. Heavens knows what ever happened to this one's mate.

Our final Mass at Pedregal Alto.

2008-12-29T08:56:00.011-05:00

The ‘Christmas’ Cross…

Mick, Joao, Marion and I headed off very early Sunday morning for our final Mass at Pedregal Alto and when we arrived we discovered that there was nobody else around apart from Imelda and Martin. The locals had apparently forgotten that this was their Mass Sunday.

Marion and Joao set up their music corner hoping that a few would arrive.

Have no fear, the new bell appeared and was used very loudly, and very often. It soon drew positive results.

The first arrivals…

And then more…

Eventually Mass began with a reasonable group in attendance.

And would you believe Santa made a belated call on Pedregal Alto and this time everybody profited from his visit, old and young. He just cannot help himself, or is he simply obeying the ‘suggestions’ of Mrs. Claus?

The Montenegro Parish farewell.

2008-12-28T12:08:00.006-05:00

Last night we were invited to attend the evening Mass for a farewell presentation and supper. You are never quite sure what to expect, however, it was a memorable evening for us both. Just another example of why it is going to be so difficult to leave these people. They are so appreciative and generous. It is quite humbling for us.
On arriving at the church we were confronted by the big screen and immediately knew we were in for some photographic memorabilia!

The A/V presentation began immediately after Mass and it was extremely well put together. Background music of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and ‘I Am Australian’ made it all the more memorable, and enjoyable.

The presentation of gifts is always a special time for all present and they immediately chant ‘abra, abra’ – open, open! The flowers were easy to guess!

Our very special flag, what a great idea.

We were expected to make replies.

After all the speeches we were off to the hall for supper and a small skit presented by the jovens, or youth.
A very good night was had by all.

A Pedregal Alto vista.

2008-12-28T11:28:00.009-05:00

By standing with my back to the new community centre at Pedregal Alto and moving the camera from left to right you get a very good impression of a one hundred and eighty degree vista of the area.
Move your eye from left to right in the top photo, then to the second and so on till you have view ed all five shots. I can guarantee you the area is as poor and barren as it looks.
The light industry in the first photo is a lime crushing plant and thank heavens the dust seems to miss the community centre.

Christmas 2008 in Lima, Peru.

2008-12-26T12:02:00.008-05:00

It has been a very interesting Christmas this year. Firstly, it was a Christmas for us without any of our children and that certainly felt rather strange. And secondly we have experienced a completely different way of celebrating Christmas.
The two day Christmas diary…
Christmas Eve:
The 24th of December began by getting up early and waiting for the man to arrive to repair our fridge, yes the fridge blew up; or rather the thermostat blew up. He was supposed to arrive at 8.00 a.m., by 5.00 p.m. we were reliably informed that he will appear at 8.00 a.m. Christmas Day. I will wait and see and in the meantime my diet takes on a completely new meaning – no food of any description! Happy Christmas!
10.00 a.m. Mick and I decided to go and shop in Metro for essential supplies for Christmas Day at the Columban Centre House. It would not be too difficult to guess the nature of the ‘essential supplies’. Yesterday morning shopping at Metro was an experience, all fifty-five checkouts were operational and there were queues at each. Slow queues at each!
12.30 p.m. We were invited to a very pleasant lunch at the presbytery with the two priests Mick and Napa and also Nancy, the housekeeper.
2.30 p.m. Wander back to our house through the local market. Today some of the people had set up makeshift enclosures and were selling live pigs and turkeys for Christmas. At least they were ‘fresher’ than the meat hanging all around.
The pre-Christmas fireworks had started early and every now and then you were startled by some exploding rocket or bunger. I have been told that they are supposed to be illegal; believe me that seems to make little or no difference in this part of Lima. I would have also thought that they would be too expensive for the people but I have been assured they are quite cheap to purchase.
4.00 p.m. The computer comes into play and Skype to Australia is worked overtime. We both had long Christmas chats to Simon and Kate in Mildura, Kate and Dale down Gippsland way and my brothers in and around Melbourne.
8.00 p.m. We head off to Santa Rosa Capilla for our 9.00 p.m. Christmas Mass. It was already crowded when we arrived. People had brought figurines of Jesus from their Christmas cribs to be placed in front of the altar and blessed with water after Mass. Some even bring the entire crib scene. As long as I live I do not think I will ever see as many statues of baby Jesus as I saw last night! A veritable maternity ward. They were all shapes, sizes and colours, and mostly beautifully dressed in silken outfits, obviously lovingly sewn for the occasion.
The parishioners had also erected a massive crib in the Capilla and during Mass a family came forward and placed the figure of Jesus in the manger. Another very interesting tradition is that each year you place a new animal in the crib. That may be the reason why some constructions are so large.
The Mass was temporarily halted twice when the power failed. Nevertheless, Marion was very fortunate that she had left the batteries in the keyboard so the music continued to flow.
10.30 p.m. Make our way back home through the continued bombardment of fireworks and head off to bed. Not so the locals, they went home to open the champagne, eat Christmas panettone and sit down to the full Christmas meal at midnight! They wondered what was wrong with us; we assured them nothing apart from our age!
Midnight and it all began in earnest. The noise was unbelievable, I did not know they made exploding rockets and bungers so big and powerful. And I also did not know that they had purchased so many of the things.
At least I felt very safe in our house of concrete and steel, a stray rocket could not cause too much fire damage and a giant bunger would not even rattle the foundations!

Christmas Day:
6.00 a.m. Check the emails, await for further Skype calls and hope that the fridge repair man arrives! The fireworks continue, however, only on an intermittent basis. They must be running very low on supplies after last night. Over our breakfast coffee I discover that Marion heard very little of the fun and games last night, I couldn’t believe it!
8.50 a.m. Pedro, the repair man, arrives with a plastic supermarket bag full of tools to work on the fridge.
10.00 a.m. Off to the Columban Centre House for Christmas Day.

10.15 a.m. First stop is to bless a brand new motor taxi.

12.30 p.m. Drinks before the Christmas meal as the crowd gathers.

1.30 p.m. A delightful Christmas meal is served – turkey and ham with all the normal veggies and trimmings followed by a fantastic Christmas pudding, Pavlova and ice cream.

It was a great day and we stayed the night in one of the cabins.

The gardens of the Columban Centre House proved to be an idyllic setting for the celebrations. Can you imagine the joy to be able to kick off your sandals and walk bare footed on grass? A great feeling.

Is my bike better than your scooter? Sharing and comparing presents has to be the same the whole world over.

Martin Varela paints St. Patrick.

2008-12-20T16:40:00.002-05:00

Friends of ours asked us to approach Martin Varela to see if he would be interested in painting two pictures of St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland. When you think of it an interesting concept – a young Peruvian artist painting an Irish Saint using the symbols and colours of Peru!

As you can see the results to this stage are amazing in style, detail and colour especially when you realise that both are little more than 40 centimeters square!
Small details such as the trebol or shamrock, the traditional potato digger being depicted as the bishop’s crozier and Martin’s signature piece in the pica flores or humming bird. He also uses the green of Ireland.
One St. Patrick is older than the other as shown by the different shade of hair.
The style of the frame is based on the Ayacuchan retablo. The retablo is a sophisticated Andean folk art in the form of portable boxes which depict religious, historical, or everyday events that are important to the Indigenous people of the highlands of Peru, especially around Ayacucho.
Both are fascinating works in that they successfully combine the two vastly different cultures of Peru and Ireland.

This second work is not yet complete – no humming bird or shamrock in St. Patrick’s hand!

Remember you can 'click' on the actual picture to see an enlargement.

One last time into the Andes.

2008-12-20T14:47:00.014-05:00

We travelled back to Ayacucho, Huancapi and Cayara for one last time this year.
On Wednesday morning we arrived at the Lima International airport at 3.15 a.m. to board the 5.00 a.m. flight to Ayacucho. It is only one hour by air over the Andes, far preferable to the ten hours by bus! Anne met us at the airport, took us straight to our hotel for breakfast and a few hours sleep.

That afternoon we visited Ruth’s house, one of Anne’s nurses at the Clinic. The workers were just completing the pouring of the roof over her third floor of the house. Same procedure as always, workers carrying buckets of wet cement up three flight of stairs on their shoulders, empty the bucket and repeat the performance until the area is covered. This took most of the day and their pay $20.00 Peruvian Soles, about $10.00 AUS, plus a hot meal and a beer at the end of the working day!
Thursday we are up again at 5.00 a.m. for breakfast and the five hour drive to Huancapi followed by another hour further up the mountains to Cayara. Narrow, dirt roads all the way, climbing in the Andes. Our drive peaked at 4,250 metres above sea level and you definitely notice the shortness of breath.

Spectacular views and spectacular drops off the side of the road - if you care to look. It is amazing how many prayers flood back to mind when you travel on these roads.
Just when you thought you had seen everything the road literally dropped into the valley of the Rio Pampa.

This river would have to be a spectacular sight when the wet season is in full swing.

We had a brief stop at the Huancapi Hostel in the Plaza to drop our bags. Our room is very different this time, we have water in the shower, hand basin and toilet, even though it is cold it is better than lugging buckets up the stairs!

Our hotel and the view from the bathroom window!

The local women of Huancapi wait patiently for their $100.00 Peruvian Soles allowance based on the number of children in the family and also controlled by a type of means test.

On to Cayara for a cuy lunch, games for the children and the grand chocolatada and panettone Christmas festival.

The two ladies in front, Dina and Lourdes, are supervising the food preparations.
We were also shown a number of houses where the women are participating in the cuy project that was sponsored by Sacred Heart Primary School, Mildura, two years ago.

Eventually we wound our way back to Huancapi for a very early bed for the both of us, 7.00 p.m. in fact. Would you believe for the second night in a row we have rooms right above a party! The music fired up at about 8.00 p.m. and ended at 4.00 a.m.! The amazing thing was that we were so tired we still managed a good sleep.

Another local community venture.

Friday morning and we were driven higher again to visit a trout farm managed by members of the Huancapi community.

The group are working extremely hard to make this project financially viable. The site of this farm was extraordinary, one hour from Huancapi and situated among high mountains and deep valleys.

Set within a beautiful natural garden with an ample supply of fresh mountain water.

We had an extra passenger on the way back from the trout farm to Huancapi.

After more farewells we finally departed for Ayacucho. Our driver, Fredy, was excellent and at all times we felt very safe and secure. In fact so much so that all the passengers fell asleep at different times on the way back to Ayacucho.

No plane ride for us this time, rather the 9.00 p.m. Cruz del Sur bus service back to Lima. One thing about this bus line is that their cama seats on the lower level are virtually full recliners and very easy to fall asleep in. So much so that the next thing we knew it was 5.00 a.m. and we were racing through the outskirts of Lima. Back to the reality of nine million people and the serious traffic, the noise, the rock and the dust. Oh well it is Lima.

The final thought from this trip that Anne left us with was why not come back to Ayacucho some time in the future and teach English to all the staff members of the Clinic. Because they have to communicate professionally with so many visiting English speaking doctors Anne believes that this development of their education is most important.

We both departed silently agreeing that you could do a lot worse things in life than return to Ayacucho for three months to teach English sometime in the not too distant future.

Fun and games and a chocolatada at Cayara

2008-12-20T11:53:00.018-05:00

One of the main reasons for Marion and I to travel once again to Ayacucho and then Cayara was to attend their Christmas Chocolatada and Panettone festival that was being funded by Sister Anne Carbon and funds from the Sacred Heart community. It also gave the people of Cayara another chance to thank Marion for all her work raising the funds to establish their cuy project.

Anne had spread the word and the whole pueblo had been invited to attend the fun and games. Cayara has a population of about five hundred people.
Firstly, her staff had organised games for the children as well as small gifts for everyone.

The proceedings began in a very small way.

However, it did not take long for the word to spread and the numbers grew, especially as the prizes began to flow!

There were many running races, balloon races, a small talent quest and even the odd tug-o-war.

The guests of honour had to hand out the prizes at the end of each event. It was great fun and the smiles told the story. These children had a present for this Christmas! It may have only been a pen, pencil, comb, tooth brush, exercise book or even a lolly pop, but it was their present!

At the end of the games everyone was treated to the Chocolatada and Panettone. You know what panettones are but I’ll bet you have not heard of a ‘chocolatada’.

It all starts with the ladies getting organised in the outside kitchen.

Next boil water in three huge pots. All afternoon people kept arriving with one or two sticks of wood supplied from their own wood pile to keep the fires going.

When boiling add packets of piles of cooking chocolate, heaps of sugar and constantly stir.

The final act is to pour in many tins of condensed milk. The end result is a warm, extremely sweet chocolate drink that all ages love.

Young and old brought their mugs, jugs and even small saucepans to collect their drink. Anne had not only organised individual panettones for everyone but she had also collected bags of small loaves of their sweet bread. Most people had ‘seconds’ and some may have had a third drink. One thing is for sure there was nothing left at the end of the day and everyone seemed happy.

On a very sad and reflective note it was obvious to Marion and I that there was almost a total lack of older men present. The older women were all there with the traditional flowers in their hats, but no men. You must remember that this was one of the worst hit areas by terrorism in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and the men simply ‘disappeared’ – for the want of a better term. It is terribly sad to see these women surviving on their own, knowing what has happened to their husbands, sons and daughters.

However, a number of the women sincerely thanked Anne for all her efforts knowing that this Christmas will be remembered because of the smiles that she brought to the faces of their young children.

Main course - cuy frito.

2008-12-20T10:14:00.007-05:00

One of the greatest compliments the ladies of Cayara can offer you is a meal of one of their precious cuy – guinea pig. However, it can be a little disconcerting viewing them living happily in their enclosures and knowing full well that they are the next meal for everyone.

Our special meal was prepared for us over a wood fire in their outside ‘kitchen’.

The plate could be described as ‘cuy frito con papas, espinaca y limon salsa’ – fried guinea pig with potatoes, spinach and lemon sauce. It looks really good if you can overcome looking at the little claws! At least there was no head served up on this one.

Both Marion and Anne think it is wonderful, I tend to be very polite and tackle only a very small portion and offer the rest to my immediate neighbours.

Marco, the son of one of the nurses who travelled with us, tucks in with fingers and all. They say the best way to eat them is with your fingers, personally I think the best way is to let others eat them!

Three Little Pigs!

2008-12-16T07:53:00.005-05:00

Once upon a time there was a mother pig and three little piglets happily living in Pedregal Alto. Now there are only three little piglets living in Pedregal Alto.
I can assure you that they do not have houses of straw, sticks or even bricks! They just run around everywhere squealing and looking for their mother.
What happened to mother pig? Well, let’s say ‘Chicharrón’ has very recently been served as a main course in this part of town! In other words mother pig served a far greater need!

‘Farmer Mick’ with one of the squealing orphans. This lady and her three daughters live right opposite the new community centre and the girls are the ones who are always waiting for us to appear at Pedregal Alto. You may remember that I have a photo of the three girls standing around the Advent Wreath in their coloured T-shirts just before last Sunday's inauguration.

The Inauguration of Pedregal Alto.

2008-12-14T19:38:00.010-05:00

Mission accomplished.

Almost exactly five months after beginning the building, the big day has arrived.
To all those generous people back in Mildura I have just one message; you will have absolutely no idea how grateful the people of Pedregal Alto are, how happy they are and how much of a difference this centre will make to their lives. I can assure you that your efforts were not just for some far away fundraiser; you have guaranteed these people a real chance to strengthen their community and dream for the future.
All is ready for the grand event, even the banner is in place on the roof and some of the surrounding houses are decorated for the family parties that will occur after the Mass and Baptisms.

The centre looks fantastic, decorated with great care and taste. They certainly go to a lot of trouble to make sure everything is perfect and memorable for all.

Their new steel cross and the designer. I warned the builder that there is a copyright on the design. I may well have been too late in speaking to him because possibly twenty copies could already be on sale! Copyright is no problem in Peru.

These four were waiting for us when we arrived, in fact the three sisters on the right are always waiting to see Marion and Lucas whenever we visit Pedregal Alto.

The new bell and a keen bell ringer.

Some of the choir members and their brand new ponchos that Marion and the sewing ladies had organised for the group. They looked fantastic and were so proud to wear them for the occasion.

Four keen supporters of the choir – Anna, Joao, Pilar and Irma.

In the hands of the starter. The crowd has gathered and the final details are being ironed out by Mick, Martin, Rebecca and Maritza. The crowd were warned well beforehand to be there by 12.30 p.m. and that the starting time was to be 1.00 p.m. I think we were only ten minutes late starting, not bad for here!

Some of the twenty-three Baptisms that were conducted during the Mass.

The speeches after Mass. Marion’s Spanish was very well received and drew great applause.

The presentation speech by Maritza was memorable and sincere; she is a great lady and will be a tower of strength in the community.

You cannot get away without opening your presents and then donning them for all to see. Jorge, the Chilean lay missionary, seems to appreciate the gringo’s brand new poncho and scarf and Marion is very happy with her gifts.

When it was all over the ladies served a meal for everyone present. ‘Papa a la huancaína’ – boiled potato covered with a spicy cheese and yellow capsicum sauce, half a hard boiled egg, a black olive and served on lettuce leaves. This was followed by a slice of the normal massive cream cake and glasses of cola. These three young girls lend an entire new meaning to enjoying the ‘after Baptism’ meal.

The day is over and we head for home down the long dusty road for possibly the last time, tinged with a lot of sadness. It is hard to imagine that we have been visiting Pedregal Alto for five months watching the building grow and now it is complete. They have a wonderful asset and I am sure that they will utilise it to the fullest.

Would you believe it, but just down the road the band had struck up for another celebration. It looked as though it was going to be a long night!

Aldino is moved on!

2008-12-14T09:37:00.006-05:00

Remember this picture?

On the 12th June this year I wrote about the old man who lives opposite our house behind a pile of rock. We think that his name is Aldino. He shelters under a sheet of blue plastic when the weather is too cold and miserable. Marion even gave him blankets on two different occasions; however, some drunken youths stole them both.

Yesterday three or four men arrived in a small truck piled with bits and pieces of old furniture, lengths of timber and some flat wooden panels. While Aldino was away, they piled up his miserable belongings from behind the rocks, pulled down his plastic sheet and deposited everything right outside our front verandah. They then spent all day erecting a fence around the block of land. I presume they are either the owners of the land or have been employed by them to build the fence.

What happened to Aldino? Well he sat for most of the day under the trees outside, he also had some soup that someone had offered him. And when he eventually began to ‘pack’ Marion organised a bag for his meagre belongings as well as a fresh pair of socks and a pair of sneakers. He had previously been wearing two right-footed shoes with no laces!

He has moved on, where to? Who knows, possibly another vacant block somewhere nearby. It seems that he just wants to be left alone, his privacy is important to him.

Three days before the official opening.

2008-12-11T17:49:00.004-05:00

The brand new Pedregal Alto community centre has risen from the sourrounds thanks to the wonderful support of the Sacred Heart and St Paul's Primary School communities, parishioners of Sacred Heart, Mildura, and other generous Sunraysia community members.

A small group of the local Pedregal Alto community members discuss details for the opening with Mick. Martin, on Mick's left, is the parish worker for this area and he is a fantastic young man, very committed to this area and the formation of the locals.

Our final two nights with our students.

2008-12-10T09:47:00.017-05:00

Instead of conversational English on these evenings Marion led the groups singing Christmas Carols, in English. The actual tunes are the same in both Peru and Australia, it’s the words that are different!

Below our five ‘graduates’ pose for their photos with the ‘professors’! It was a pity that our other three members of the class - Antonio, Gladys and Marie Theresa - could not be present on the evening.

Claudia

Joao

Juana

Pilar

Trini

On Monday evening we also celebrated two Birthdays, Trini on the left and Pilar on the right blowing out the candles.

We were delighted that Miguel and his wife Ruth came for the celebrations. He was in our first group, however, he had to cease coming due to big problems with a tumour behind his knee. After operations and treatment he is now up and about, thank heavens. He and Ruth are a delightful couple and have become close friends.

Our second happy group of Marie, Lupe, Maritza, Marco, Johany, Jolanda and Trinidad with their well earned Certificates of Conversational English Achievement. Maritza received a special mention for being the only person who attended every night during the course, a wonderful achievement when you consider her daily work commitments.

A very happy family group of Yolanda, Trinidad and Marco. This family live right up the head of the valley. Marco leaves for work around 4.00 a.m. every day to drive a taxi in Lima; however, he really has a dream to return to University to complete his Law degree. Trinidad’s dream is to become a medical doctor. They are a great family and have loved every minute of their studies.

A very happy Marion on her keyboard, the group really enjoyed her playing and singing.

Is he bored with the singing – possibly, tired out- possibly or just not happy with the fact that the end of the year is in sight – more than likely?

Building report - 9th December

2008-12-09T15:42:00.008-05:00

Maritza and Felix assure Mick that all will be in readiness for the weekend.

Only four days till Saturday 13th of December and the official signing of the papers and the handing over of the keys remain, while there are only five days till Sunday 14th of December and the Inauguration Mass and Blessing.
The local community have also planned for twenty-two Baptisms during Mass on Sunday.
It should be a big day and a wonderful one for all the people of Pedregal Alto.

Maritza approves of the tastefully tiled kitchen and servery area.

The main gathering area awaiting a final clean-up.

The toilets are taking shape.

The little girls are welcome, however, the dogs may have to find another resting place after they shift the pile of sand from the front door.

The artesan markets of Miraflores, Lima.

2008-12-08T13:17:00.010-05:00

Almost anyone who visits Lima will more than likely end up at the Artesan Markets in Miraflores. It really is one of the main areas for tourists to shop. Just get yourself to Avenida Petit Thouars in Miraflores and you will be right among a large number of extensive markets.

Beware, it looks as though some serious shopping is about to occur.

All types of Peruvian artesania are available here, including woollen goods, art work, craftwork, silverware and gem stones. Some of the best in Peru are here on Avenida Petit Thouars. Just to wander the stalls and be part of the atmosphere is fun, even if the constant invitations to visit and buy can become a little tedious.

Possibly sometimes the most trying time is waiting for family members to make up their minds on the colour and style and then haggle over the purchase price!

The various markets cover examples of works from the various Peruvian civilizations such as Moche, Chimu, Chachapoyan and Inca. You must try to understand that these periods ranged from 2500 BC to the slaying of the Inca King, Atahualpa, in 1533 AD. Archeologists are continually discovering that these civilizations were some of the most sophisticated during those specific times.

Our second visit to Ayacucho.

2008-12-07T11:09:00.010-05:00

We have just returned from our second trip to Ayacucho this year. This time we had at least two reasons in mind. Firstly to catch up with Sister Anne Carbon and visit the Clinic she has established and secondly to show Elena some of the sights before she moves on from Ayacucho to Cusco and then La Paz in Bolivia.
Also we were so lucky to be able to coincide our trip with a return visit of Angela Keane from Ireland. Angela figured prominently in the June 28th blog of “Our trip to Ayacucho”.

We visited Sister Anne Carbon, a Columban Sister who is the Director of the Hospital for Mental Health in Ayacucho. This is an extraordinary clinic which caters for people of all ages and all forms of mental health. There is nothing else like it in Ayacucho. On the day we visited, one of their former nurses, Angela Keane, had returned for a visit from Ireland. She had worked at the clinic for two years with children who have physical and mental disabilities. The staff and patients combined to give her a wonderful ‘welcome back’ party, many speeches and lots of singing and dancing.

Anne also took us to visit one of the local orphanages which exist in Ayacucho.
The particular one we saw was managed by an Argentinean woman and her husband, staffed by local women both on a paid and volunteer basis. In fact we met three young volunteer women, one from Italy, one from America and the third German. There were just over fifty young people living in this orphanage and their ages ranged from babies through to eighteen years of age. You could not but be impressed with the care and love all these children were receiving.

Elena and Marion having fun with the children.
Bus rides to Quinua and then Huanta followed over the next two days. By the way if it is any help these places are pronounced ‘key-noo-ah’ and ‘want-a’. You may struggle to find them on a map!
Quinua is famous for the nearby battlefield site where the Peruvians conquered the Spanish in 1824. To commemorate this occasion they have built a huge, white obelisk – forty meters in height. It can be seen from Ayacucho, thirty seven kilometres away, in fact we saw it while dining in a restaurant – Marion and Elena eating cuy or guinea pig, while I chose the pork!

Rather a pleasant place for a battle with or without the imitation canons. They have an annual reenactment of the battle on the 9th December, we would have loved to have been there.

The victor, General Sucre, with the obelisk in the background.

The rather impressive obelisk.

Quinua is also noted for its ceramics, especially the small ceramic churches and figurines they place on their roof tops.

The ladies chose to visit the nearby waterfalls, by horse back! I chose to sit under a tree and enjoy the view for an hour or so! Once again we found out that it is amazing how the negotiated starting price can alter once it comes to the price for the return journey.

Will we? Won't we? Decision time for the ladies.

Off they go on their journey riding just like a pair of naturals.

The waterfalls.
On the second day we visited Huanta, forty eight kilometres from Ayacucho, and I am still not quite sure why! Did we ‘wanta ’go in the first place?

The neat and colourful Huanta main Plaza.

The bustling Huanta mall!

We then travelled for another few minutes to Luricocha. It is a quaint little pueblo and described in one travel brochure as “the emerald of the Andes” with a wealth of flora and fauna and renowned for fruit liqueurs, honey and other quality products. We must have been too early for the shops to be open.

The streets of Luricocha.

I was amused to see the different architectural styles of the local church and the presbytery. For such a small town the interior of the church was most impressive and well looked after.
The church and presbytery of Luricocha.

Back in Ayacucho, right beside the Cathedral is the University of Ayacucho, and this institution would be classified as the birth place of the “Sendero Luminoso”, the Shining Path, the terrorist movement of the 1970’s and 1980’s which claimed so many lives in areas of Peru and most especially in this Province of Huamanga.

Their leader, Abimael Guzman, began lecturing in this University in 1962.
The statue of General Sucre standing in the main Plaza of Ayacucho was receiving a scrub and air brush prior to a fresh coat of paint.

Even with very questionable work practices the end result was most impressive. In fact the entire Plaza is most impressive and well worth the visit.

Elena’s farewell was something special. In the first instance we had to find the Celtur Bus Depot tucked away in a side street.

Then she was strongly advised to take an early morning bus to Cusco because of the robbers who still operate in the mountains around Ayacucho! Seeing that it was to be an eighteen hour journey she inquired about the eventual night journey. She was reliably informed that you would be out of the danger area by then! Most consoling news for her mother and father! The 7.00 a.m. departure was classic. One woman would not get on board because there was no space for her fifteen to twenty parcels, packets and bags. After much yelling and hand waving and then realising that there were six people on board who were on the wrong bus, space was found somewhere for her belongings.

You have to see to believe what people will put on buses. There seems to be no limits on amounts or sizes! We heard later that she did arrive in Cusco even though it was ten hours late, an avalanche had blocked the road and everyone had to wait until it was cleared.

Dad was thrilled to hear the news of the robbers!

And would you believe it, we are returning to the area in ten days time for a big Christmas celebration in the village of Cayara. This is the area where Sacred Heart Primary School, Mildura, sponsored a very important cuy or guinea pig breeding program. One small problem is that this pueblo is another six hours by steep, winding dirt roads through the Andes from Ayacucho. We drive five hours to Huancapi and then one more hour to Cayara.
More about this trip at a later date.

Maximo Laura, world famous weaver.

2008-12-06T12:19:00.008-05:00

Last week while we were in Ayacucho we were fortunate enough to visit an exhibition of Maximo Laura’s weavings. We saw some of his works earlier this year in Arequipa and to say the least they are truly amazing. His intricate use of varying colours to create depth is unbelievable. I have taken the following narrative from one of the relevant websites.

“Maximo Laura is one of South America's most accomplished weavers. Laura is a fifth-generation master weaver who inherited from his parents and grandparents – as did all the master weavers from Ayacucho, Peru – the traditional style of ancient weaving called cumbimayocs. But while he is ultimately respectful of the icons and colors of the ancient Huari culture, which predates the Inca culture, it is his juxtaposition of those traditions with his own design elements and narrative that have earned him many international awards, distinctions and exhibits. Maximo has taken the tapestry weave to a different level. He is constantly enhancing his unique technique of raising the weft to create incredible depth to his tapestries. Maximo is a scholar of textile art and has travelled the world exploring and teaching in his field.”

His website is – http://www.maximolaura.com/ and is well worth checking.

The fading effect has all been achieved by weaving with different shades of wool.

Nine months of gardening!

2008-12-06T11:44:00.006-05:00

Just when it is all coming into bloom and we will have to leave it behind.

Early March this year it all began as a virtual desert - rock and sand.

Here we have it today, nine months later. However, I have to admit that the grass took a bit of a pounding during the miserable winter months and is proving slow to recover, even with all possible love and care!

More of Martin's paintings.

2008-11-29T08:35:00.008-05:00

We have just collected another four paintings from Martin Varela and once again he has displayed amazing colour in his depictions of Peruvian culture. However, it is a great pity that the photos do not really do justice to the actual colour he uses in these four works. Finally, you will notice that in all of his works he includes different types of Peruvian corn and also the Inca National colours – which are the rainbow colours.

The Yunza tree is a very important Peruvian festival celebrated during the month of February. It originated on their campesinos or farms. The people decorate the Yunza tree with gifts and then proceed to sing and dance around it while they take turns to try and chop it down and share all the gifts. The person who successfully lands the final chop is the organiser of the next year’s Yunza. Another much loved February activity is the throwing of water everywhere and on everyone! We learnt very quickly that when travelling on buses make sure your window is closed!

Pachamama, Mother Earth. The word Pachamama is Quechan and is derived from ‘mama’ mother and ‘pacha’ world. Pachamama presides over the planting and harvesting of the crops and two of these are shown – the grain and the corn. Both are very much part of the staple diet of the Peruvian people. One very important use of the corn or maize is to brew their chicha or maize beer. He has even painted some earthen jars which are used to store this brew. Martin also adds the important aspect of caring and healing by showing the bestowing of hands on the head of the young girl.

This painting of thirteen niños, children, shows many different poses, costumes and colours. The child at the top of the painting is even offering the humming bird a flower. He has also included the Andes, farming terraces and Inca walls.

Some of the birds and animals of Peru. He has shown the condor, the toucan, the coloured parrot, the humming bird and the Peruvian National bird – the red headed Cock of the Rock. The humming bird is also referred to as the Pica Flores. The four species of the Peruvian 'camels' shown are the llama, the vicuna, the alpaca and the guanaco.

Selling bananas.

2008-11-28T07:45:00.001-05:00

Just another one of the many ‘travelling salesmen’ you see and hear around this area, and I really mean hear! All you need is speaker attached to the top of a pole, a battery and a mouth piece from a phone. I would not like to think how they manage to come by a mouth piece! Set all this up on your motorised trolley and away you go.
This man will ride around the streets of Montenegro all day selling a ‘hand’ of bananas for S/-1.00, about 50¢

Farewell to Kate and Gerry.

2008-11-20T09:30:00.005-05:00

The farewell message reads – “A thousand thanks for your great vocation of service. With much love for our friends, Gerry and Kate.”

Kate and Gerry Power left for home today after three weeks working in the Motupe/Montenegro parish. Their work was greatly appreciated by all and they will be remembered for their efforts.

Lucy and Teresa were two of Kate and Gerry’s greatest supporters over the last three weeks. Lucy is the coordinator for all the parish services and Teresa is the parish nurse, and both are truly remarkable women.

Marg and Lucy presented the gifts to Kate and Gerry.

Maria prepared a delicious lunch and she also takes cooking classes four afternoons a week for the women of the area. She is the mother of Teresa, has a wonderful sense of fun and thoroughly enjoys her work.

Monday nights.

2008-11-19T06:10:00.006-05:00

Our group consists of Claudia - with her back to the camera - Gladys, Trini, Antonio, Pilar, Juana and Maria Theresa - Pilar's son Joao was the only one missing last Monday night.

Monday nights continue to be a lot of fun at our house - much English, Spanish and laughter with supper added as a bonus. This group, like ourselves, are not looking forward to the final night in a couple of weeks time.

The master makes his point! Just like riding a bike, you never forget!

Building report - 18th November.

2008-11-19T05:54:00.004-05:00

One of the main doors ready for installation – plus the shiny new triple lock!

A brief report from Pedregal Alto shows that the steel door and window frames are all presently being installed, the glass will follow shortly. When the doors are all in place they will be able to lock-up the building and only then will they install light fittings.
The next big day for the Pedregal Alto centre will be the inauguration and this is planned for 14th December. The locals have already begun to plan for that day, and for the celebrations that will follow!

From the kitchen looking through the servery into the main area. Note the concrete benches that will eventually be tiled.

I have often wondered why they do not insert the metal braces or lugs into the wall before concreting rather than chipping the concrete away at the end. Check the top left hand corner. The frames are welded onto these pieces of metal.

Room with a view! Looking from the main room out over Pedregal Alto.

Sunday lunch in English!

2008-11-17T08:07:00.008-05:00

The table was set and ready to go for the Sunday meal.

Last Sunday we invited a group of young people to share lunch with us in our house. It was also an opportunity for the group to practise their English in a social setting. The three lay missionaries – Angelica, Jorge and Alfredo; four of our English students – Joao, Jeny, Martin and David; and a German girl who is working in the parish for a year – Anna. Unfortunately Jeny and Martin could not attend because of work commitments, however, Father Mick, Kate and Gerry were present.
The crowd gathers for lunch. From left to right we have Marion and Joao in deep conversation; Jorge clowning around for the camera; Alfredo, Anna, David partly hidden and Angelica make up the group.

Kate and Marion were the main chefs for the day – and very good ones at that! In fact Kate prepared and presented for all her renowned apple crumble and cream.

The meal is served and obviously Kate and Marion seem to be enjoying their efforts while Mick makes sure he has photographic proof of the day.

Our visit to the biohuerto.

2008-11-14T08:04:00.004-05:00

The biohuerto, vegetable garden or small farm, of Cangallo.
Yesterday we decided to take a walk to Mick’s vegetable garden; possibly I should have said a ‘climb’ to the vegetable garden. As you can see by the background of some of the photos we were high up the side of the valley. He has developed a remarkable terraced garden virtually on the top of a hill. His efforts are also supported by a number of the local women and children. The produce all goes to support the comedors, the kitchens which supply meals for the children. However, Mick did mention that all too often they give the food to “Padre”! They must think that he looks starved!
Resting up after the ascent to the garden.

Two of the younger members of the weekly working bee. For the reader’s benefit our house is at the rear of the large building in the background which is right behind the top of little girl’s head.

Marion watering the garden while hiding behind the crop of corn. The pumpkin, lettuce, onions and other herbs are all doing well. Mick has also planted sweet potato, parsnip and beetroot. He did mention that the locals have no idea of what to do with the parsnip – so we took a handful home and roasted them, delicious!

Many hands make light work when it comes to planting out beetroot seedlings, however, the young lad in yellow proved to be a handful, especially when he got his hands on the hose!

The bull fight.

2008-11-10T11:26:00.016-05:00

This morning I opened the Melbourne Herald Sun web site and was confronted by a picture of David Fandila, “El Fandi”, fighting a bull at Lima’s famous bull fighting ring, the Plaza de Acho. Would you believe I was actually there yesterday watching all the action live! The stadium is an amazing piece of architecture, built in 1766, and because of the closeness of the crowd the atmosphere was unbelievable. It ranges from total silence to cheers, whistling, clapping and many “ole”s!

The “pre-match” entertainment consisted of some great precision marching and rifle drilling by a unit of military personnel.

This was followed by eight women performing on wonderful prancing horses.

Bull fighting in Peru is based on the Spanish-style bullfighting and is called corrida de toros, running of the bulls. In the traditional bull fight the three matadors each fight two bulls. Each matador has six assistants — two picadores or lancers mounted on horseback, three banderilleros or flagmen and the sword carrier.

The modern bull fight is highly ritualised with three distinct stages, the start of each being announced by a blast of a trumpet. The participants first enter the arena in a parade to salute the presiding dignitary, accompanied by band music. The costumes are inspired by 18th century Andalusian clothing and matadors are easily distinguished by their spectacular "suit of lights".

Next the bull enters the ring to be tested for ferocity by the matador and banderilleros with their magenta and gold capes. They work together to continually run it around the ring.

In the first contest the bull had two victories! Firstly, it knocked the matador down and secondly it managed to toss the matador into the air! After gathering his composure he returned to the cheers of the crowd.

In the first stage, the matador confronts the bull and observes his behavior. Next, a picador enters the arena on horseback armed with a lance. To protect the horse from the bull's horns, the horse is surrounded by a protective cover and is also blind folded.

At this point, the picador stabs a mound of muscle on the bull's neck, leading to the animal's first loss of blood. The manner in which the bull charges the horse provides important clues to the matador on which side the bull is favoring. If the picador does his job well, the bull will hold its head and horns lower during the following stages of the fight. This makes it slightly less dangerous while enabling the matador to perform the elegant passes of modern bullfighting.
In the next stage, the three banderilleros each attempt to plant two razor sharp barbed sticks on the bull's flanks, ideally as close as possible to the wound where the picador drew first blood. These further weaken the enormous ridges of neck and shoulder muscle through loss of blood, while also frequently spurring the bull into making more ferocious charges.

In the final stage, the matador re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape and a sword. He uses his cape to attract the bull in a series of passes, both demonstrating his control over it and risking his life by getting especially close to it. This stage ends with a final series of passes in which the matador with a sword attempts to manoeuvre the bull into a position to stab it between the shoulder blades and through the aorta or heart.

My final impressions – the pageantry and theatre was really worthwhile witnessing, however, I did not enjoy the final dispatching of the bull, especially when it sometimes takes a little longer than I thought it would. Would I go again? I don’t think so.

Naming Sunday for Pedregal Alto.

2008-11-09T12:05:00.011-05:00

Possibly one of the youngest members of the community to attend the naming ceremony of the Pedregal Alto community centre.

Sunday, 9th November, the first of many memorable days for the people of Pedregal Alto. Today was the day that Father Mick McKinnon officially announced the name of the Community Centre. The people’s choice was Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Mick also pointed out to all present that this name strengthened the connections between Sacred Heart Parish and Primary School and Pedregal Alto. The most important event for all will come very soon – the actual inauguration of the building. In fact Maritza and Marion could be plotting this event!

The morning was really well attended even though it started at 7.00 a.m.! Mick went to great pain to stress that they all must realise that this building is not intended to take the place of the Pedregal Alto church. It is the community centre and the eventual church will be built alongside, sometime in the future. The challenge for all is that they must continue to work toward that dream.

At the conclusion of Mass Marion was invited to sing the Sacred Heart Parish blessing - May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever. Grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavour. Lift up your eyes and see God’s face and God’s grace forever. May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever. Her effort was received with great applause.

Father Tom presented everyone present, young and old, coloured Rosary beads as well as an Australian flag, the flag was gratefully received by Maritza. Tom also received warm applause at the conclusion of his Spanish oration to all before him.

All of a sudden the place was inundated with Aussies – Father Tom Brophy, Parish Priest of Mildura, Kate and Gerry Power and ourselves joined forces with Mick.

At the end of the morning the transport arrangements for a few of the Aussies to travel down to Montenegro proved interesting!

Patchwork and Chiropractic treatments in the parish.

2008-11-05T06:14:00.010-05:00

Kate and Gerry Power have slipped right into the local scene by offering patchwork classes and Chiropractic treatments within the Motupe/Montenegro parish. By the use of common Spanish phrases, the Spanish/English dictionary and multiple hand signs they are both coping extremely well and already achieving great results. They have been totally accepted by everyone and the people are so grateful for anything you are able to do for them.
Clare and Kate have set themselves up in the belltower of the Motupe church! This is the normal meeting place for this talented group of sewers. Just take a note of the two sewing machines, have a look at age of the one on the right. The quality of work they produce under these circumstances is extraordinary.

Kate giving some individual attention to one of her ladies.

Irma, a Columban Lay Missionary, and Teresa, the Parish Nurse, prove to be very efficient receptionists!

Gerry and Teresa welcome the next patient before heading into the treatment room.

Teresa organises another appointment with Oscar while Marion escorts his wife on a short relaxing stroll in the parish courtyard.

A busy time at the Guthries in Montenegro!

2008-11-02T14:07:00.009-05:00

Right now we are in the midst of having a great time with family and friends from Mildura. Our daughter, Elena, was the first to arrive and she has been followed by our friends Kate and Gerry Power. Now Father Tom Brophy, Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Mildura, is presently visiting the area. Father Tom is only here for a few days while Kate and Gerry are staying for three weeks.

His first viewing of the Pedregal Alto project.

I don't think it is the Portland Cement we know!

Father Tom has been totally amazed with all that he has seen, Marion even made sure that he visited the almost completed comedor at Pedregal Alto. A project been funded by Sacred Heart Primary School as well as many other members of both the Sacred Heart Mildura Parish and Sunraysia community.

This morning we attended Mass up in Valle Sagrado. The local people could not believe their luck, they had two priests! Father Mick McKinnon arrived with Father Tom. Everybody loved him when he distributed Rosary beads to all the children.

Kate and Gerry have immediately made a great hit with the local people. Gerry has offered his services as a Chiropractor and already has a pretty full schedule of bookings for three days a week. Kate has begun to work with a group of very talented women who produce quality needle work. Kate is going to introduce them to patchwork. The women even took her shopping last week to a huge market at Gamarra to purchase the required material!

They were welcomed at the Valley Sagrado Mass and Kate was even wished ‘Feliz Cumpleaños’ – Happy Birthday for November 1st!

And only two days ago we farewelled our daughter, Elena, for a month – she is travelling to her jungle experience near Villabamba in Ecuador. This happy snap was taken as she was feeding the pigeons in the Plaza at Arequipa!

Building report - 25th October.

2008-10-27T06:13:00.004-05:00

It has been over three weeks since the last report and great progress has been made. The roof supports which were inside the building have all been dismantled and the concrete floor of the main area has been poured. All the internal and external concrete areas have been rendered and look very smart.

The kitchen and toilet areas will be done in the next couple of days. The builders have also finished the pathway and steps on the side of the comedor.

Our two week break.

2008-10-26T08:22:00.011-05:00

Marion and I have spent the last two weeks visiting some of Peru’s tourist gems with our daughter, Elena. It all began with a very early morning flight from Lima to Cusco.
Cusco is a beautiful city nestled in the Andes at an altitude of 3326 metres above sea level. In fact, on arrival, it is a very good idea to go to bed for a few hours in order to allow your body to adjust to this altitude.

As you approach Cusco you are struck with red brick colouring of this city. It is due to the fact that the predominant material used for roofing is red tiles. We also discovered that the local authorities have decreed that in future all roofing must remain this way as well as external painting to be maintained in white and sky blue colour scheme.

One must in this area is to take a day tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas which visits such places as Pisac, a colourful market town, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. All three are famous for both their Inca and Spanish historical sites. The architectural designs and constructional abilities of these peoples are truly amazing.

The bright colours of the Pisac market.

The pictures above show another huge Inca site overlooking Cusco and it is called Saqsaywaman, literally pronounced 'sexy woman'!

The Vistadome train service to Aguas Calientes takes about four hours and is an extremely comfortable way of beginning our visit to Machu Picchu. The train journey is basically divided into three sections, the first being five or six switchbacks as we climb out of Cusco, then there is the ride through the Sacred Valley following the Rio Urubamba and finally riding through the extremely steep sided valley to the small town of Aguas Calientes.

This town at 2410 metres above sea level is virtually right below Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientes translates into hot water and we both took a soothing bath in these springs just outside of the town.
Next morning at 5.30 a.m. we were on one of the first buses to ascend to Machu Picchu. Although it was to be my third visit to the site, the excitement and amazement of the grandeur does not diminish. You cannot but marvel at this place, especially when you realise that it has now been declared as one of the recently installed ‘Seven Wonders of the Modern World’.

Elena was determined to scale Wayna Picchu, something she did in great style and is still talking about the experience!

Elena before and after the climb!

We were lucky to visit Machu Picchu so early in the morning as the first of the tourist trains arrive around 10.00 a.m. and then the visitor numbers increase dramatically. In fact when we were departing for Aguas Calientes early in the afternoon people were still arriving in numbers and streaming through the entrance gates. One major achievement for me was that for once my daughter cost more than me due to the fact that my Peruvian residency got me in for half price. Viva Peru!
Back to Cusco and then early next morning onto a day bus to Puno, this time the elevation has risen to 3830 metres above sea level. If altitude problems are going to strike you down this is where it will occur. Thankfully all three of us only suffered from occasional shortness of breath and very dry throats when you awake in the morning. Puno is situated on the shores of the highest navigable lake in the world.

It can hardly be called a lake when its dimensions are 170 kms. in length and 60 kms. in width. Its deepest point is estimated to be 240 metres and in reality it is one kilometre higher than Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko! 60% of this lake belongs to Peru and 40% to Bolivia and both have a small navy presence on the water. Lake Titicaca is where you can also visit the famous floating reed islands.
Puno to Arequipa was an easy five hour bus ride, as well as a welcome drop in altitude, 2350 meters above sea level. Possibly the most beautiful city of our travels. While Cusco is predominately red, Arequipa is largely constructed of silla, a white local stone. It is also situated at the base of not one, but three volcanoes, El Misti, Chacchani and Picchu Picchu.

The Central Plaza of Arequipa is something else by night, especially when viewed from one of the many upstairs colonnade restaurants.
Arequipa is also boasts of being the home of the Convent of Santa Catalina, a veritable city within the immediate vicinity of the Central Plaza. It is possibly Arequipa’s main tourist attraction and is a must to visit. Within the Convent walls the buildings and small streets are painted in red ochre and bright blue while potted red geraniums are placed everywhere. The history of this Convent it worth reading on any of the many websites as also are the websites for Juanita the Ice Maiden and Maison del Fundador, the home of the founder of Arequipa. Two other noted attractions of Arequipa.

Our trip ended with a fifteen hour overnight bus ride back to Lima, however, the Cruz del Sur bus line is one of the best and even the lower section of these double-decker buses are equipped with the most comfortable full cama seats, recliner beds, and you don’t need to guess where the three of us were!

Chalk and Cheese!

2008-10-08T11:37:00.004-05:00

Just less than two hours by bus through the centre of Lima or about thirty kilometres as the crow flies and you reach Lacomar in the heart of Miraflores, an extremely affluent area of Lima. Almost the perfect example of chalk and cheese or as my mother used to say ‘from chocolates to boiled lollies’ – or vice versa! On reflection I suppose it is the same for most of the heavily populated cities of the world. They all have their richer areas and their poorer areas, their ‘haves’ and their ‘have nots’.

The residents of Miraflores would know of such places as Canto Grande, San Juan de Lurigancho and Montenegro, however, you could bet your bottom dollar they have never been anywhere near the area. Nevertheless, a number of the residents of Montenegro would go to Miraflores for work, while some may have even visited the area, if only for ‘window shopping’.

From rock, dirt and dust to green grass, palm trees and beaches. From the most basic form of housing conditions to very presentable high rise accommodation. From small hostels to the International Marriott.

Lacomar, right on the Pacific Ocean, is the place to be seen in Miraflores. The restaurants and shops are of the highest quality and I would suggest they endeavour to target not only the tourist market but also the more upper class members of Lima’s society.
Where else in Lima would you be able to stroll into an exclusive cigar shop, make your selection from hundreds of cigars displayed in a perfectly climatically controlled show room and then indulge yourself in the café with your favourite coffee? I must admit that I have not spied the equivalent around Montenegro!

Before we depart for Australia we could possibly introduce hang gliding off the sides of the mountains, it does seem very popular off the cliffs of Miraflores. It obviously gives the passenger a fantastic view of the coast line.

Another tremor.

2008-10-07T07:30:00.001-05:00

Another tremor and this time right in the middle of Monday night’s lesson. Apparently it measured 4 on the Richter scale and had its epicentre only twenty six kilometres south east of Lima. That’s close!
It was not the nicest of feelings to just sit there and listen to the rumble grow louder and louder and then feel the house beginning to shake causing the windows and doors to vibrate and the plates and glasses to rattle and clink in the various cupboards. The entire event may only take six to seven seconds; however, I can assure you that’s long enough for you to become rather fearful.
A few of the members of the class, including myself, did not like the experience one little bit. Others just seem to take the whole performance as normal.
People must wonder about the next ‘big one’!

Heroes de Senepa

2008-10-03T09:11:00.010-05:00

The area of Heroes de Senepa from half way up the side of the valley...
Yesterday we were invited by Sister Marg Malady and Delia to accompany them up the valley to one of their weekly discussion groups. Each week a small group of mothers and their children gather in a different house to talk, do some embroidery, discuss a topic relevant to their lives and say a short prayer. While this agenda proceeds, the children either play around the house or do some colouring. Yesterday’s discussion topic was based on ‘good news’, and they used the example of the local press and how it tends to depict bad news in graphic and gory detail. They all agreed that good news to them would be getting some work! They want to work and yet are unable to find any. Jorge and Sonia, the owners of the house we met in, have some work: Jorge is a repairer of a variety of small machines and Sonia uses her overlocker and sewing machine to both make and repair clothes. Rebecca, who has four girls, peels hot peppers with her bare hands and earns $/-1.00 per two kilos. You have to remember that peppers do not weigh very much, and they burn your hands! Her nine year old daughter, Elizabeth, is severely handicapped and in need of twenty four hour care.

We met Marg and began the climb up the side of the valley, she warned us that it would be hot and steep; she was right on both counts. We were also escorted by Delia, she and her daughter Gabriela were members of our first English class.

When we reached the ‘top’ we were greeted by Jorge and Sonia and invited inside their home – three roughly divided areas – a cooking area, a sitting area and a sleeping area!

The ladies took great pride in their embroidery.

The children loved their colouring in exercises, however, they found it extremely difficult to be creative when it came to choosing the colours. They just wanted to copy the text book!

Then someone just happened to mention that a certain person may be able to sketch some of the children’s’ faces! Would you believe the news spread like wildfire and the line-up grew by the minute? At the end of the discussion and short prayer we were served a cup of orange gaseosa – soft drink - and a dry biscuit.

We thanked them sincerely for their hospitality and started the trek back down the valley. It is a huge reality check comparing our living conditions back home to the living conditions these people have to contend with – and with very little of hope for a better future!

Even the garbage truck is an eye opener. It comes a certain way up the valley with its siren blaring and the people have to come running with their garbage, there is no possible way the truck could negotiate some of the side streets!

We promised to return to visit the families of Heroes de Senepa.

"La Marinera"

2008-10-02T12:55:00.008-05:00

"La Marinera" performed for Bishop Peter Connors by two of the local children.
Marinera is a coastal dance of Peru, generally called the “National Dance of Peru.” Marinera is a graceful and romantic couple’s dance that uses handkerchiefs as props. The dance is an elegant and stylised reenactment of a courtship, and it shows the blend of the different cultures of Peru. The dance itself has gained a lot of recognition and is one of the most popular traditional dances of Peru. During the month of January, in the city of Trujillo north of Lima, a National Contest of Marinera is held.

The origin of the Marinera is generally traced back to the Zamacueca, an ancient colonial dance that originated in the Viceroyalty of Peru, taking its roots from African, Spanish and Andean rhythms. Nevertheless, there are various other theories about where it comes from. The traditional accompaniment for the dance is provided by guitars and bugles.
The popularity of the Zamacueca would eventually lead to it flowing out of the main region of Peru to other South American countries. The dance would slowly evolve as it took on new influences; however, the basic steps of the dance remained the same. The Zamacueca is not widely popular yet several dance institutions in Peru dedicate part of their time to teaching it.

In Peru, the dance would adjust itself to the post-revolutionary times and take on a series of adaptations, especially from the coastal region of the country. Although the dance never so much as “left” Peru, due to cultural and political reasons this new version of the Zamacueca gained the nickname of “la chilena”. During the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru, 1879-83, the broken ties between these two countries forced the new Zamacueca to indefinitely change its name in honour of the Peruvian Navy to the name of “La Marinera”.

Bienvenidos Monseñor Pedro Connors.

2008-09-29T07:38:00.009-05:00

The people of this area gave a fantastic welcome to Bishop Peter Connors over the weekend in the form of two concerts...
On Saturday they came from all sections of the Parish boundaries to sing, dance, wave their specially made banners and flags and they even managed to coax some old members of the audience to get up and dance!

The concert began with the singing of the Himno Nacional, the Nathional Anthem of Peru. Each group had a representative standing out the front.

We had two renditions of the Marinera, a traditional courting dance.

The children in their traditional costumes performed a variety of dances. The colours on display are amazing as were the children themselves.

We were presented with fruit ‘necklaces’ and then invited to test the hamstrings once again. The necklaces and hamstrings both survived.

The choir performed the final item. The white haired lady on the right is Maria and she is a fantastic cook. She is presently conducting extremely successful cooking courses for single mothers from the Motupe/Montenegro area.

After Mass on Sunday the Bishop witnessed more traditional dances, equally as colourful and lively as the day before.

First the nervous preparations…

Then the performances began.

This lady’s dress was unbelievable, not only did she take her place in the Offertory Procession but she also danced solo for all at the end of the day.

Whatever happened to Bishop Peter Connors?

2008-09-28T14:26:00.006-05:00

Bishop Peter Connors, the Bishop of our Ballarat Diocese, is presently visiting the area and staying with Father Mick McKinnon. You may have noticed that his official title in Peru is Monseñor Pedro Connors. For all back home have no fear he has not been demoted from Bishop to Monsignor!
Marion and I reminded Bishop Peter that this time last year we were talking to him in Mildura during the welcoming the Youth Cross and Icon to Victoria and that we had planned to ‘catch up’ in Lima in 2008. Well the year has flown by and here we are all together again! However, as the pictures below show it has been rather difficult to keep track of his hectic weekend, hence we may pose the age old question –“Whatever happened to Monseñor Pedro Connors?”
On Friday… well he was seen outside the Interbank in Centro Lima having ‘refreshed’ his wallet!

He was also seen in the Lima’s Plaza de Armas inspecting the Cathedral as well as the Curia offices of Juan Luis Cipriani, the Cardinal Archbishop of Lima.

He was also seen in the Santo Domingo Monastery, Lima, visiting the tombs of both Santa Rosa de Lima and San Martin de Porres.

On Saturday… he was well and truly seen on the welcoming banner erected at the Motupe Parish Centre as the crowd slowly gathered and got organised for the big day. The performers for the day came in all ages and colours.

He was not seen on the official welcoming dais!

He was seen making his way through the guard of honour formed by the children from the various Parish centres.

He was seen with Padre Miguel in the Motupe Parish Church, Capilla Nuestra Señora de La Paz, for a welcoming Liturgy.

He was definitely seen leaving the Church accompanied by some of the younger members of the community. Don’t you love the home made Aussie flags?

He was seen during the presentation ceremony.

He was seen in a final group photo Saturday afternoon including Padre Miguel, Senora Marion and Hermana Margaret.

On Sunday… he was seen preparing for the big community Mass at the Jicamarca Parish Church, Capilla Santísima Trinidad.

He was seen anointing the newly Baptised members of the community.

He was seen accepting the gifts from community members in their traditional dress at the Offertory Procession.

He was seen delivering the final message, with the assistance of Padre Miguel McKinnon.

He was seen outside Padre Miguel’s house farewelling the people after Mass.

And he was seen in a final group photo with Hermana Marie, Hermana Jacinta and the people of Valle Sagrado.

Where we live, an excellent map of Lima.

2008-09-26T06:55:00.004-05:00

Don't forget to click on this map if you wish to see an enlarged version.
This is an excellent map because it gives you a really good impression of the layout of Lima and the surrounding rocky landforms – the mountains! These mountains are basically the foothills of the Andes and they come that close to the coast line for most of Peru.
We live at the very top of the San Juan de Lurigancho valley, virtually on the edge of this map. This area is also called Canto Grande. By the way the surrounding sides are just as steep as the map suggests.
You will notice a small green area on Av. Independencia at the head of this valley, that is about the position of the big Metro shopping complex we visit for those little ‘extra special things’, such as fresh meat, toiletries and the occasional bottle of drinkable wine! It is approximately nine kilometres from our bus stop to Metro. While it is another nine to ten kilometres beyond the top of the map to visit the people in Valle Sagrado, a very new and rapidly developing area – they even got lights up the middle of their only access road two weeks ago! And when the authorities delivered all the extra poles for the houses the women had to collect them and then carry them to their homes!
It is thought that about one million people live in this particular valley, while the population of Lima is estimated to be nine million. Fifty years ago Lima was eight hundred thousand people and surrounded by cotton and corn fields and then the “campisino” invasion became a reality, the farmers migrating from the mountains into the city. Supposedly for the better life!
A local bus will get us into Lima Centro in about one hour while the bus journey to the airport in the bottom left of the map could take one and a half to two hours depending on the route and speed!
Miraflores, by the ocean, is one of the classy areas of Lima and contains both residential and commercial sections. A great place for tourists and you can also be reasonably sure that the locals would not even know that Canto Grande exists!
Just near Lima Centro you can see La Victoria, reputedly an extremely dangerous area yet it contains literally thousands of small retail outlets. You can just about buy anything in La Victoria, if you still have your wallet!

The children enjoyed the big day!

2008-09-25T07:17:00.003-05:00

The new roof on the community centre was as equally exciting for the children as it was for the adults, well for some of them anyway. It was just all too much for a few of the younger ones, however, they all enjoyed the handouts!

Building report - 23rd September.

2008-09-24T09:56:00.008-05:00

A big day in the life of the new comedor, the “techo” or roof is poured. Almost two months to the day after the grader attacked the Pedregal Alto site Marion and I witnessed the pouring of the roof, great excitement for all, especially the locals. It gives their lives an enormous amount of excitement and expectation.
When I arrived by taxi in the morning I passed the truck towing the cement mixer broken down half way up the valley, a great start to the day! Felix, our foreman, did not seem at all worried because they still had not quite finished all the conduits for the electric wiring and some other men were even building the ramp for them to get up onto the roof top.
You can see how all the reinforcing steel is firmly wired together both vertically and horizontally; this technique is employed to lessen the damage which could be caused by earthquakes.

The mixer and truck finally arrived in a cloud of dust being towed by a length of the good old number eight fencing wire! In fact the towing vehicle looked almost as bad as the “towee”! Nevertheless, and much to the glee of all, they had made the final ascent!

All the lads began to get ready for action; they changed into their old clothes, used plastic bags for socks, old cement bags for shin guards and wads of paper as shoulder pads. Obviously they had done this before and knew all the precautions. Another interesting point was the fact that quite a few blessed themselves before getting stuck into the task.

The mixer with its unique fuel tank fired up and tin after tin of wet cement was filled and carried up the ramp to the roof top. You just stand there and contemplate the Occupational Health and Safety implications!

They literally worked nonstop firstly filling the stairs at the rear of the building and then all the trenches crisscrossing the roof top until – the cement mixer ran out of fuel! And guess what; they had forgotten to bring extra “grifo”.

Everybody took a break to enjoy another one of Marion’s banana cakes while some poor unfortunate “inspected” the roof work so far, I wonder what he knew anyway? Meanwhile the mixer man trudged down the valley to fill his plastic bottle, thank heavens Mick was driving up and was able to give him a lift to the petrol station – and more than likely pay for the fuel!

With a new supply of fuel they were back into the job of pouring the final five centimetre layer over the entire roof area. Initially I thought that this would take ages, however, it was not the case. It was finished in just over an hour and a half.

Then the most important blessing ceremony took place. Firstly Felix had to climb the ladder and hang a cross decorated with flowers and a bottle of champagne from the newly completed roof.

Then the honour of smashing the bottle fell to Marion. I would not dare to mention the number of tries it took her or even the size of the final rock she chose!

A great day for all, celebrated in style with the dispensing of champagne by Maritza, Rebecca and Marion. I do think that some of the workers were more interested in getting home.
What happens now? If the sun keeps shining all the timber work could be dismantled within twenty days and in the meantime they make sure to keep the top damp to avoid cracking.

"Whatever has happened to Miss Peru?"

2008-09-20T07:44:00.007-05:00

I recall a few years ago when we first visited Peru Father Leo Donnelly posing the question, “Whatever has happened to Miss Peru?” Having been here for the past number of months I am beginning to comprehend his concern as well as understand the issue.

Virtually all the billboards, all the television commercials and all the print media advertisements display the same message – western images and western values to the fore! Beautifully manicured white women promoting a variety of goods and services ranging from cosmetics to car washes. The partly clad women advertising car washes are something else! Why do they use these western images in a South American country? Is there a racial issue involved in the sense that white is better than coloured? Again the question is posed, “Whatever has happened to Miss Peru?” Or maybe what is wrong with their own?

Historically the Peruvian people have suffered sufficiently without adding further insults to their race and culture. This perceived attitude of western preference could be seen as just another put-down in a long line of other previous put-downs. Persist along this pathway for sufficient enough time and you would have severely eroded the self-esteem of the people, especially in some of the more marginalised areas of Peru such as where we are presently living. You can normally assume that people will end up believing that “I am not good enough” or “I can’t do that”. And yet we have found in our English classes that if our students receive sufficient, positive encouragement – just like anyone else - they are able to achieve. And then when that happens you notice some supremely happy and contented faces! Their joy and gratitude when they received their certificates at the end of the three month course spoke volumes.
Is it possible that this lack of self esteem could lead to something else? I sincerely believe it does. I believe that in a lot of situations it leads to an ever growing lack of trust in others. You do not have to look too far to witness this attitude of mistrust, especially when it comes to the handling of money. People are constantly checking all the notes and coins, fingering them and holding them up to the light. I can appreciate that they may have been duped in the past; however, the fact they check every coin and note so thoroughly and openly is at times difficult to understand.
Apparently I surprised a lady the other morning in our market, she was selling rosemary plants for $/-2.00. Not only did I buy one but I left her with both the money and plant until I regreso – return. She may well have taken this as a huge act of trust on my part leaving her with the plant and money; sadly my sole intention was based on the fact that I did not want to carry the plant all around the market!
The classic example of this mistrust is seen regarding the procedures involved within the retail business sector. In the first instance you identify and order an item by number, this is entered into a computer by an employee; you are then presented with a docket to take to the cashier to pay for the item. After you have received your receipt you make your way to the area where your docket and receipt are checked again and the goods are finally packed and presented to you by a third employee. And believe it or not, your goods and receipt receive a final scrutiny by the security person as you leave the store! In the minds of the people it is not thinkable that only one person would handle the entire sale. It is just presumed by all and sundry that this is the normal procedure!
You may respond quickly by saying that at least this process has a significant effect on the numbers in the workforce. I do not believe that is the issue, I believe it all comes back to this basic lack of trust.

Is this lack of trust just another reason why they do not believe in images of their own when advertising or promoting? Why the manicured blonde is preferred to the native Peruvian? Can you stretch this theory far enough so that a link is able to be made between poor self image on one hand and a lack of trust on the other? Or am I being a little over dramatic and simply failing to realise that from a very early age the people of Peru have become used to this marketing ploy and have just allowed it to continue to happen?

Nevertheless, that initial, puzzling question still remains unanswered, “Whatever has happened to Miss Peru?"

Our third group is very small!

2008-09-20T07:17:00.004-05:00

Our new students from left to right are - Angelica, Alfredo and Jorge.

We have begun teaching our third English group and this time they come to our house for lessons. Angelica and Jorge are lay missionaries from Chile and Alfredo is a Peruvian Parish worker and all three work in the Motupe/Montenegro area. They already have some English so personal improvement should be rapid.

Within the Columban Society lay missionaries, once selected, commit themselves for a minimum of three years and are normally expected to work in an other country rather than their own. We really enjoy their company and admire their enthusiasm for mission amongst the poor.

More children of Pedregal Alto.

2008-09-18T06:10:00.020-05:00

These are some of the children who greet us everytime we visit Pedregal Alto. They race to have their photo taken and then have great delight in viewing their faces by virtue of the digital camera.

How the roof is poured.

2008-09-18T06:10:00.017-05:00

From this distance you will notice at the right hand end of the building the workmen have completed pouring the roof of the toilet area. The actual method they use is most intriguing and by the use of both pictures and words I will endeavour to try and explain the process.

As previously mentioned they use an enormous number of eucalyptus props to support the ceiling. When you think of the combined weight of the reinforcing steel, bricks and cement you can understand why. However, they do use special bricks for the roof or ceiling, as you can see they are larger than the normal building brick, yet lighter in weight due to the honeycomb nature of their construction.

The men lay planks across the area to be poured and space them apart so that the large bricks can bridge the gap – so to say. This forms a trench between the sides of the two bricks and the base is the plank. Cement is then carried by hand up onto the roof and poured into these trenches. When they are filled the entire area is covered with more cement. Felix, the foreman, says that if the sun stays out all the supports will be removed in about two weeks, otherwise it could be up to twenty days before they are taken away.

You will notice from the picture that the moisture from the fresh cement is seeping through the wooden planks.
Apparently next Wednesday is the day set aside for the main cement pour – and the party at the end of the day! We will be there to bring you, and the rest of trhe world, up to date with the latest!!

The surrounds of Pedregal Alto.

2008-09-18T06:10:00.016-05:00

Now that the sun has returned once again to the valley you get a fairly good impression of what it is like living at Pedregal Alto. There is no real demand for such garden items as lawn mowers and hedge clippers! However, the odd bulldozer may come in handy.
In the top photo there is another major valley over the range in the background, that particular valley leads to Tarma and right to the edge of the Amazon jungle. Apparently it is planned that a major road will link Pedregal Alto and this other valley. Somebody did mention that the President, Alain Garcia, has land around here, amazing!
Footnote: Today we created a record, twelve passengers in a Mazda station wagon 'taxi'! Three in the front seat, four, including yours truly, in the next seat and five in the back, including Marion! And all paying customers, a windfall for the driver.

Building report - 14th September.

2008-09-14T11:26:00.008-05:00

You cannot win, just four days after the warm sunshine the fog has descended once again with a vengeance. One small blessing is that at least it is not drizzling and damp.
The well used timber uprights and planks have all arrived on site and the workmen have begun the forming up of the horizontal beams.

The first reinforced beam will be placed right around the building on top of the external walls. This will be connected to both the vertical wall beams and the horizontal roof beams in order to form and really good protection against tremors and earhtquakes. This building technique virtually ties the whole building together.

The exterior walls are connected with further reinforced cross beams. You have to be impressed with the use of the eucalypt uprights and the sophisticated method used to prop them all up to the correct height!

Wait for the next report and see how many uprights will be in place to hold up the entire ceiling - a virtual forest of dried euclaypts!

The site is guarded and completely safe thanks to this resident, ferocious hound. He recognised us as friends so promptly went back to sleep on his bed of empty cement bags!

Building report - 10th September.

2008-09-10T11:03:00.004-05:00

A beautiful day up at Pedregal Alto, at last the sun is shining and it is warm.

The builders are back and were happy to see us even though there was no cake. We promised to return on Friday with the goodies!

Looking through the front door into the main community space, the kitchen is at the rear.

From this angle you can see the three distinct areas. From the left the storage and toilet area, the kitchen and finally the community space.

The final time at Leo's at Punta Negra.

2008-09-07T05:56:00.015-05:00

Leo's House, the one behind the blue gate. We have just spent the last six days there and it really was the last six days as Leo moves out next week just prior to him flying back to Australia for six months. Leo has decided to move back to Lima when he returns in April, 2009. It was rather sad as we have spent many wonderful hours at his house and it will hold fond memories for us.

Marion had a marvellous time assisting with the wrapping, packing and general cleaning of cupboards, shelves and drawers. I constantly remained on the lookout in order to short circuit any attempts by either of them to relocate items to our place of residence in Montenegro!
I may well have been accused of being rather selfish in that I did not want to have to repack anything again in January. Possibly an accurate assumption!

We had great delight in pointing out to him that now that he is leaving they are constructing a rather flash paved promenade right outside his front door and stretching all along the beach front.

When you mention the beach you have to realise that it falls a long way short of our Australian beaches. Our sand could be white or even golden, over here it is grey; our water may sparkle, over here it is grey; our skies are usually blue, over here it is grey! Nevertheless, it is still great to go down to Punta Negra and just smell the sea air and watch the Pacific Ocean pound the shore twenty four hours a day.

I have to admit that the surf is scary; the sets of very large dumpers arrive quite regularly and crash down very close to the water’s edge. If you are brave enough and do venture into the water you must do two things, stay close to the shore and always watch the incoming waves. The undertow is extremely strong. During the summer months the beach is patrolled by lifesavers, however, very few take to the water. They prefer to just sit on the sand under umbrellas.

The fishermen are amazingly patient, every time we come down there is always someone on the rocks fishing. The only time they are missing is when the waves are breaking over the rock pillars!

The brown and white bus in the foreground is the bus we use to travel down from Lima, a journey of about one and a quarter hours – depending on the number of stops. The trucks higher in the background are travelling along the Pan American Sur. This main highway virtually links all the countries of South America along the western coast. Initially it was intended to extend from the United States right through to the south of Chile.
The landscape in the background is basically what you experience for kilometre after kilometre – rock and sand with little to no vegetation.

Building report - 6th September.

2008-09-06T11:09:00.008-05:00

We visited the site this morning and would you believe there is still ‘mucho niebla’ – much fog! The locals still say that October will be sunny, we are almost there!
All the external brickwork is almost complete. However, there was no action today mainly due to freshly poured foundations and columns. I believe the next stage being the boxing and pouring of a reinforced concrete beam on top of the brickwork all the way around the building.
Thank heavens Marion did not do her usual cake trick for the workers, it would have to have been brought home for us to eat!
This is the front of the building and the main entrance is on the right.

Standing in the main community area and looking towards the kitchen and servery window.

Looking from the kitchen back into the main community area.

The toilet and storage areas at the rear of the building.

A view of one of the side walls from the rear of the building to the front.

Road side repairers.

2008-08-31T08:02:00.004-05:00

This is not an open grave!
These road side repairers are all along the side of the main road up our end of the valley. They have a ready market up this way due to the state of the roads once you leave Av. Independencia, the main road up the valley. The rocks and ruts play havoc with all parts of your vehicle, especially the mufflers. Even the infernal speed humps send you crazy. They are strategically placed to make sure you stay within reasonable speed limits. They may also be in place to ensure that you need weekly chiropractic treatment!
First of all find a suitable spot and dig yourself an inspection pit, it is far easier welding standing up! The white powder you can see is used as a form of flux while welding. The concrete blocks are a constant reminder of the terrorist times. They were placed to try and protect the electricity supply. One of the favourite tricks of the Shining Path was to destabilise the area by causing massive blackouts.

You need a ready supply of reconditioned mufflers. They could be the ones that were cut off yesterday, repaired and given a nice coat of blue paint!

There are always plenty of willing helpers ready to offer advice about the job at hand!

Santa Rosa Feast Day.

2008-08-30T13:39:00.012-05:00

Today all of Lima will be celebrating the Feast of Santa Rosa, the patron saint of Lima. Groups from in and around Montenegro also gathered to celebrate in style. Processions arrived from various districts carrying their decorated statues of Santa Rosa. It made for a most impressive sight.

Father Kevin McDonagh celebrated the open air Mass and would you believe it - but it just happened to be the first sunny day for months!

The Offertory procession.

At the conclusion of Mass the various groups head off to process down the main road. Some of the traditional costumes were spectacular - and worn with great dignity and pride.

As the dances made a last minute dash to join the street procession it was just all too much for one member of the congregation!

The procession takes to the main road amid plenty of colour and noise, in fact each group seemed to have their own band. Not to mention plenty of people willing to set off more rockets.

I wonder if this gentleman wished he would have preferred to learn the flute or drums, may have been a little easier!

Some of the rocket lads.

2008-08-30T13:20:00.008-05:00

I have found some at last; these are some of the culprits who constantly send off these exploding rockets night and day. These boys appeared at today’s Santa Rosa feast day Mass. They had followed one of the many processions which arrived for the Mass and while on their way they were continually setting off these mini explosions. All part of the celebrations!
The trouble is they use them for all forms of celebrations – feast days, birthdays, weddings, baptisms, you name it. And the time of day or night seems to be of little consequence.
I suppose I have to admit that after a few months you tend to get used to the noise! I also need to reflect on what I was like at their age because I don't think the actual time made any difference to us.

Their plan of attack is simple, one carries the rockets and the other looks after the matches and the rocket launcher - an empty beer bottle. The Dog? Well you just hope that it gets its timing right and departs the launch pad before it is too late!

The boys cannot wait until Mass is over and then they can get to work again!

Our second round of lessons come to an end.

2008-08-29T06:57:00.010-05:00

Last night we completed the second round of lessons, another three months have flown by and the supper and certificates were prepared for the night.
When we began this second group on 27th May we had fourty-four names registered as interested persons. In reality we presented twenty certificates and our average nightly attendance over the three months was fourteen! Nevertheless, all who attended seemed to benefit from the experience of coming to grips with basic conversational English.
I can personally understand their difficulties as I continue to endeavour to come to grips with basic Spanish!

Our last lesson gets under way with both class work and small group work. All of our students loved the small group work, especially when they were pitted against other groups in competition mode!

For your interest some of the basic topics we initially cover in the thirty six lessons are the alphabet, numbers, alphabetical order, days, weeks, months, colours, signs and symbols. We then move onto conversations based on questions and answers, responding to simple instructions, short conversations based on specific topics, shared readings and the basic principles of grammar. All of the time we are stressing two aspects of the course - look and listen.

This group contained two ‘family affairs’, the first was the brother and sister combination of Carolina and Hector and the second being a mother, father, daughter combination of Yolanda, Marco and Trinidad in the grey top. All these five people were very regular members of the class.

Some of the certificates being proudly displayed by the individual recipients. They were presented by one of our Columban priests from the Motupe Montenegro parish area, Father Jovito. Moving from left to right in both we have in the top photo William, Jessica, Evelyn, Lupe, Maritza, Carolina and almost Shirly. Below we can see Yolanda, Marco, Hector, Mari and David.

Marion prepares the supper in readiness for the arrival of the class while William and Jessica proudly show off their certificates.

The cake, Peruvians seem to love these massive, coloured cream covered sponge cakes. The bigger, the better! The dreaded Inca Cola has also made an appearance, another love of people especially when served at room temperature.

Supper is served.

Building report - 27th August.

2008-08-27T12:49:00.009-05:00

Every day we go up to view the work at Pedregal Alto the fog seems to be thicker, this shot was taken at the exact same place as those I took and added to the blog on 14th August!
This little girl appeared from the thick fog, checked us both out and then disappeared again!

The 'brickies' have begun their work on one of the side walls of the main community area.

All the workers were going flat out until Marion arrived with the freshly baked banana cake and Inca Cola!

The wheelbarrow man has finished filling in the kitchen area.

The third section of the building is taking shape, the toilet block on top and a storage area below. The steel reinforcing rods are all individually wired together. As soon as this is finished and the foundations are poured then they will begin to fill in this space - again by barrow!

Now for the Montenegro parish bingo.

2008-08-25T07:56:00.010-05:00

Welcome to the Montenegro parish grand bingo. It did not seem as big as the Motupe bingo, nevertheless, the crowd seemed to have just as much fun.

The hot food stall is always a winner - you are able to purchase varying combinations of chicken, spaghetti, potatoes and rice all covered with 'hot' salsa.

The Panchos, or sausage sizzle, took a fair time to get going and Jeny seems to be the only one doing any work! I know for sure that the lads spent hours trying to get the fire going and I would hate to think how much kerosene was used in the process.

The crowd really took to Tombolo. You buy a ticket and that number corresponds with your prize. The Sisters from the local Fe y Alegria College organised this activity and apparently they receive wonderful financial support from the other Fe y Alegria Colleges around Lima. This allows them to build up a terrific array of prizes - and once again all for S/- 1.00.

Carlos calls those elusive numbers.

As expected the crowd built as the afternoon went on, remember the better prizes are last to be drawn. Padre Jovito, he is the one in the yellow short sleeves, does not look too impressed with his numbers!

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

2008-08-25T07:32:00.008-05:00

¡Sorpresa! ¡Sorpresa! ¡Sorpresa!
She has done it again! The lady champion of fundraising has hit the Montenegro Parish Bingo with style.
The first task was to purchase one hundred and eight plastic containers from China Town in Lima and then proceed to fill them with an assortment of goodies to form the basis of a newly invented game for the young children called - ¡Sorpresa! ¡Sorpresa! ¡Sorpresa! – Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
Each container was numbered and wrapped in coloured paper so that nobody could see the contents. They were divided in two categories – boys and girls. On paying S/- 1.00 you pick a pop stick with a number on top and then collect the corresponding container – great fun. The reality is that each container ended up costing far more than the ticket price! That may be another reason why it is called ¡Sorpresa! ¡Sorpresa! ¡Sorpresa!
The goodies are almost ready to transport to the bingo site.

Marion, Alfredo and David setting up our little corner. Our only worry was getting the bookcase from home: carrying it down the locals thought that we looked like a pair of undertakers going to the church!

Marion makes an early sale.

Luke does the rest. Only about a hundred containers to go! However, why did I ever doubt, they all went.

Great day at the bingo for the children.

2008-08-25T07:16:00.002-05:00

The children were fascinated with everything and really enjoyed themselves, the pictures tell the story better than words!

The Montenegro parish dance group.

2008-08-25T07:05:00.004-05:00

The young people, or jovens, put on an amazing display of traditional dancing during yesterday's parish bingo. They are part of a parish dance group and really take their dancing very seriously. It is great to see their enthusiasm.

Our local area.

2008-08-23T10:22:00.006-05:00

The large water tank in the background is one of many dotted all around the sides of the valley, these were constructed by SEDEPAL, Lima’s water authority.
A commitment was made in the past to ensure that all the people of Lima had access to water. This commitment was made by Alain Garcia prior to him winning the national election in 2006. The water may arrive by one of two ways - piped or water truck.
However, if you happen to be living higher than either the tank or the access roads the water trucks use then you will still have some lifting and carrying to do!
Sometimes I find it very difficult to photograph the living conditions of the local people; it seems to me to be rather intrusive. Yet how will it be ever possible to describe what you see if you do not take the occasional photo in order to try and make others aware of how people do live – and survive in this area.

You get some sort of an indication of what I mean when you look at the above four photos. You must also remember that the weather over the last few months has been absolutely miserable, constant fog, drizzle and mud!

Some faces of Peru.

2008-08-20T14:00:00.002-05:00

Motupe worm farm.

2008-08-20T12:46:00.007-05:00

The Motupe parish community has developed this well organised worm farm and in doing so has strongly promoted the idea of recycling garbage as well as developing a commercial side by selling fertiliser in the form of worm castings.

The concrete bed in the foreground is similar to the ones under the shade area for the worms.

One of the key factors has the mixing of the garlic skins with usable compost. The strong garlic seems to lessen the odour of the compost. I suppose that is not too surprising because when you think of it garlic can tend to drive off friends!

The site also contains guinea pig sheds and an area marked for further development for fruit trees and vegetable garden. Thanks Trevor for the photos.

Building report - 20th August.

2008-08-20T12:22:00.005-05:00

Big developments even though they may not be able to see what they are doing! The niebla, or fog, persists. As we approached the site we had to get to about thirty metres before we could see anything!

The top level now awaits the brick walls, the concrete slab or floor will be the final act of the building program.

The second level will be the kitchen and below that will be the storage area and toilets. This latter area has yet to be defined by the builders, however, the way they are progressing I am sure it will be there next week.

They are presently boxing up the foundations for the kitchen area and then they will fill it by wheelbarrow to the level of where the men are working! As you can see it will be lower than the main community area.

Goodbye to Donna and Trevor.

2008-08-17T07:27:00.008-05:00

Yesterday we met up with Donna and Trevor for the last time, they flew into Lima from La Paz for the day. We have had great fun together while they have been in Lima and I am sure that we will share many more good times when we all get together again back home in Mildura.
We shared a fantasic lunch with two Columban priests who are very good friends - Father Leo and Father John. As you can see by the ladies' plates they definitely enjoyed themselves. Marion chose chicharron mundo marino, a Peruvian fisherman's basket, and Donna chose Macchu Pichu which was virtually three plates in one, one of them being the typical Peruvian cebiche, uncooked white fish marinated in very acidic limes from this area. In fact the limes are so strong they virtually cook the fish!

As their final treat in Lima we took them to the Gold Museum and would you believe it but this museum holds one the largest private collections fire arms, uniforms and other military memorabillia. We all thought that we would never see Trevor again, he could not believe his luck. It was like letting a little boy loose in a toy shop! By the way that's Trevor in the background bargaining once again with someone at the front door of the museum!

Some birthday shots - at last!

2008-08-17T06:25:00.009-05:00

Saturday 26th July, the night an Aussie birthday party took place in Montenegro. There was the cake with many candles, the singing of 'Happy Birthday' in both English and Spanish, presents, an abundance of food, drinks for all, music - and the salsa! We had great fun and celebrated in style, although maybe a little too long for the slightly older members of the group! Many thanks to Donna and Trevor for all their efforts and for the photos.

What a stellar performance by the Guest of Honour and Raphael, they made a stunning couple. However, it must be said that a strong rumour went around the room that there had been some serious moves being practised in the kitchen beforehand. Who cares, the end result was amazing and greeted with resounding applause.

The crowd were enthralled with the entire performance and more than likely were more than eternally grateful that they were not dragged onto the dance floor.

Marion, Nancy and Pilar, below, as well as Mick, Nancy and Luke, above, - obviously enjoying themselves.

And would you believe it but the old bloke's hamstrings survived to live another day.

The video being shot in the background by John is in safe hands and will be shown only at private viewings!

The 'Dancing with the Stars' couple take their final bow, and a well earned drink! Though there was more than a hint of achilles soreness next morning!

Building report - 14th August.

2008-08-14T13:46:00.004-05:00

From a distance the split level nature of the building is becoming more obvious.

The foundations and steel reinforcing are progressing smoothly. You can now begin to appreciate the actual amount of fill the workers had to move to the site.

It strikes me that divine intervention came far too late for the first water tank!

Same place - different weather!

2008-08-14T13:30:00.002-05:00

Today was the first day in weeks when we awoke to bright sunlight and you even notice the warmth in the air. We have had day after day of either fog, drizzle or both.

Straight to the laundry tub for Marion and we now have clothes and sheets drying out all around the outside of the house.

The two photos above give you an indication of what the actual difference is like.

After four days hard building work.

2008-08-11T16:48:00.008-05:00

Since the completion of the new water tank the site has changed remarkably. The men have built up the ground to the required level and have almost finished digging the surrounding foundation trenches. They have relocated an enormous amount of rock and earth in order to reach the level they need; remember they only use picks, shovels, huge sledge hammers and wheelbarrows! The following series of photos give you an idea of what has actually taken place.
We have discovered that the actual building will be on a split level, the large community centre will be in the front and behind that, at a lower level, will be the kitchen, dining, toilets and storage areas.
This first shot was taken on Wednesday 6th August.

This one was taken on Friday 8th August, another sunny morning in Pedregal Alto!

And these last three photos were taken on Sunday 10th August. The third shot shows the two levels as well as the height above the new retaining wall.

The ‘site committee’, which includes Fr. Kevin McDonagh and Marion, seem quite satisfied with what has happened so far!

Someone has to do the hard work while the others watch!

Garlic peeling.

2008-08-06T12:42:00.002-05:00

We have often passed this property where the workers sit around outside and peel the outer skin from the large garlic bulbs and then pack the small garlic cloves into bags. You can imagine the strength of the garlic aroma.
We were also informed that these peelings are used to assist with the decomposition of compost. The Motupe parish has an amazing worm farm project and they use as much of the garlic peelings as possible. They mix it with the usable compost in order to build new worm beds. In turn they then sell the worm castings. Nothing gets wasted.

The building of the comedor has begun.

2008-08-06T11:48:00.008-05:00

This is the first of many reports as the 'dream' takes shape and will eventually come to fruition.

After the bulldozer has 'cleared' the larger boulders and rocks the digging becomes extremely hard work, and as you can see it is all done by hand.

Levelling the site against the newly constructed retaining wall.

Marion is even doing her little bit to get things moving.

The workers believe that he may be the building inspector, if they only knew!

Follow the white line!

2008-08-06T11:31:00.006-05:00

The first step in local road building practices is to mark out where you are going using the white, lime line.

While the first step in the local house building practices is to make sure that you stay within your boundaries.

Finally, get your hands on a good bulldozer to 'clear' the land.

The tale of two tanks.

2008-08-06T11:12:00.007-05:00

Stage one on any building site around here is to make sure that you have an ample supply of water. That normally means that you either build a concrete lined brick tank or gather together as many empty drums that you can lay your hands on and place them on site.

The builders of the Pedregal Alto comedor chose the former and constructed a brick tank approximately three metres by two metres and two metres deep – that is a lot of water when full, well over ten thousand litres! As you can see by the weather it was not a really good drying day so when they decided to fill their new tank you can guess what happened – it disintegrated!

They have now built ‘Mark II’ on a slightly different base and are still waiting for the cement to completely dry out before filling this one!

These are the trucks that are constantly winding their way around the area filling up tanks; they carry two types of water, one for domestic use and the other for construction. And by the way it is not free!

The 26th of July celebrations.

2008-07-28T14:02:00.004-05:00

Saturday the 26th of July was a major milestone in the life of a certain woman and it was celebrated in style. The 60th birthday party was huge and although none of our children were present we still had a fantastic time. All the guests, both invited and uninvited, were treated to a truly Australian party - singing, dancing, eating and sipping. As soon as the photographic evidence is gathered, collated and censured it will appear on the blog! Until then you just have to wait!

The Motupe parish bingo fundraiser.

2008-07-28T07:20:00.009-05:00

A big day in the life of the Motupa parish.
I have quickly come to the conclusion that Catholic parish fundraisers seem to be the same all over the world. The Motupe parish held theirs last Sunday and there was a remarkable similarity between our Catholic primary schools White Elephant Sale back home.

There was the usual range of stalls selling hot and cold food. The skittles and ‘knock em down’ games were popular. There was the torture chamber where you were marched off to, put in the stocks and had to wait until someone came up with an appropriate ransom. The new one for Marion and I was the guinea pig game. A circle of boxes was set up with prizes on the top of each one and if you held the ticket corresponding with the box the little devil went into you won that prize. The children thought it was great.
The highlight for the crowd was undoubtedly the Bingo which went most of the day. You purchased as many Bingo cards as you liked when you arrived and you used the same cards all afternoon, each card was S/-2.00. As the day went on the prizes got bigger and so did the crowd. The final prize was S/-300.00, and that is big! The organisers hoped to make around S/-3,000.00 to help support all the Motupe parish programs.

The guinea pig 'hunt' was fun for all ages.

The favourite with the crowd is the bingo.

The crowd loved the torture chamber with the dunces chair, the stocks and the hangman's noose. As expected both Marion and I received the appropriate treatment much to the amusement of all the crowd.

Donna has decided that it may be time for them to leave because Trevor could not register even one tin at 'knock em down' stall!

The houses near Acho.

2008-07-23T21:45:00.002-05:00

I simply had to take this shot of the houses on the side of the valley opposite the Acho flower market. It looked as though the Dulux paint rep had recently visited showing off a new colour chart!

Parade by the district schools.

2008-07-23T16:58:00.010-05:00

Seriously, where do you begin? There were so many photo opportunities as we stood by and watched, and yet we seemed to be standing around for hours waiting for something to happen!
Firstly, you must remember that next Monday, 28th July, is Peru’s National Day and right now everyone seems to be conducting a parade of some sort. The Peruvian red and white flag is appearing everywhere, all the varying sizes may be purchased at any street corner or at traffic lights while you are waiting for them to go green, that’s if you wait for them to change.
We never learn, once again we arrived at the designated point right on the advertised starting time – next time we will arrive an hour and a half later so that we will not have to wait so long! Because even then you will still be early and not miss a thing.

As you can see the dais was not even ready, the band were relaxing and some of the school children who had arrived on time were either practising their goose step march or just milling around and swapping stories. All the schools seem to insist on the high kick and arm swing when marching and I can assure that some find this technique very hard to master.
The teachers were out in force, dressed in their uniform but not marching together, women in one group and men in the other – I was too scared to ask why!

The school bands continue to impress, however, when you realise just how much time they spend with their instruments then you expect something good. I just wish they would use more than one sheet of music. After a very short time you have learnt the tune off by heart!

Once again the traditional costumes came to the fore, they are so colourful and worn so proudly, even by the little children.

We loved the array of pre-school uniforms on display.

The food vendors never fail to appear and take every opportunity for a sale, you name it and you could buy it. The hot food on sale looked terrific and smelt even better, however, neither of us was game enough to purchase a plateful.
The line markers had almost completed their task of marking the guide lines for the marchers.

Eventually the usual array of speeches got under way, but only after the official party paraded the Peruvian flag, flew it from the flag pole and then sang the National Anthem. The dog seems far from interested in the whole proceedings although you would have thought that the sound system may have moved him on. The speakers did seem a bit of an over kill for the size of the crowd, nevertheless, you have to realise that the public address system is the most vital part of the event and the louder the better.

As the crowd began to build we were reliably informed that all the local people from the areas represented by the schools had to attend, if not they were fined S/-50.00. That is big money for these people and it seems quite unjust. I am not quite sure who gets the money if a fine is imposed; I suppose the equivalent of our local councils.

Most of the uniforms worn by the school leaders and the band members are owned by the school and are spotless. The parents would really struggle to come up with that sort of money.
It was getting so cold that we had to make a move so we missed the main parade. It was a pity because we really wanted to see some of our English students who were marching with their school.
We had to head to Acho, the flower market to purchase a few more squares of lawn and some soil. Yours truly managed to accidentally leave the hose running all night and the ground became so soaked that a hole appeared in the middle of our back lawn and for safety reasons it had to be filled.

The Pedregal Alto comedor project has begun.

2008-07-21T12:42:00.005-05:00

Mick rang us the other day to report that the bulldozer had ‘cleared’ the land in preparation for the builders. The site is different from the first one, however, it is still close by and well and truly at Pedregal Alto. It has taken quite a while for this actual new site to be finalised and the papers handed over. Nevertheless, the project is now under way. I have attached some photos showing the difference between ‘before’ and ‘after’ the bulldozer attacked.

These 'before' shots were taken very early on a foggy Sunday morning a few weeks ago before Mass.

These are the 'after' shots on a much clearer day. I must say their idea of clearing land is very different to mine.

This is how we travelled up to Pedregal Alto with about five others for S/-1.00 each. He even cleaned his taxi while he waited for us to go back down - with others!

Dog paradise.

2008-07-21T12:38:00.001-05:00

We were walking up the hill to our house this morning when we came across ‘dog paradise’. They were all peacefully enjoying each others company, and the passing traffic. We both wondered if this very spot was chosen because of the fact that the owners of this particular house have slaughtered at least two huge pigs on the same concrete slab! Marion saw one and I saw the other, they were massive beasts and the scent of pork may still be lingering!

No water restrictions in Montenegro!

2008-07-16T12:14:00.002-05:00

This is the method the local council use to water the median strip around here! You may notice a tyre and red traffic cone on the back of the water truck, they usually drag the tyre with the cone sitting in it behind the truck on a long rope - a warning to traffic coming up the highway to avoid the truck!

Another tremor!

2008-07-16T12:02:00.005-05:00

We were standing at our bus stop the other morning reading all the newspaper headlines, as everyone else does, when a gentleman pointed out to us that a particular newspaper was predicting a major earthquake in the near future. The report said that according to all the relevant data one was overdue!
Would you believe it at about five next morning a substantial tremor rattled the valley, and beyond! The noise is quite disconcerting for those who are not used to it; the locals just seem to keep going on with their lives. Because we were both still in bed at the time we did not feel too much of the vibrations. I can assure the noise was bad enough!
That brings our total tremor experiences to about six since we have been here and I hope that they remain of similar or less proportions if they are to continue. However, we are reminded of the earthquake that destroyed Ica and killed over 450 people in August last year and Ica is only 300 kilometres south of Lima.

Look for the man with the blue cap, his name is Santos and his job is to make sure the buses remain on their correct route. They are not supposed to alter their journeys in order to pick up extra passengers.

He is also a fantastic help to Marion and I in selecting the correct bus for where we want to go. There are more buses passing this stop than the old Heinz fifty seven varieties! Different sizes, different colours, different shapes and very different ages. They go all over Lima and even take many different routes, and at different speeds. One day going to Los Olivos we took the wrong one and drove right through two markets and took thirty minutes longer than normal!

Class is in.

2008-07-15T21:48:00.003-05:00

Last week Marion ventured down the highway to a university which advertises various language courses. She discovered that there was a person who may be available to coach her in Spanish. Next day she returned and met with Senor Roberto Suca and organised with him to come to our house on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for four hours from eight to twelve. So we are now both students of the Spanish language. I can assure you that Marion is coping extremely well and progressing rapidly. As for me, well let’s say “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” and you can transpose “brain” for “flesh”! Right now I am experiencing some difficulty with the structure of the Spanish verbs. It did not help me one little bit when I was suitably informed the other day that Spanish can be far more difficult to learn than English. I will battle on; however, in the long term I think that I may stick with painting and drawing!

A morning tea break from all those Spanish verbs.

Sister Joan Sawyer peace memorial march.

2008-07-14T09:48:00.013-05:00

A very small start to what would end up as a huge march.

A simple wooden cross with its inscription ‘No mataras’, stands on the side of the road that runs through the district of San Juan de Lurigancho on the way to Montenegro. It emphasises the commandment “You shall not kill!” and recalls a Columban sister, Joan Sawyer, who was killed alongside eight escaped prisoners in 1983. They all died after police open fired on the vehicle outside their squalid prison in Lima.
Sr Joan used to go to the San Juan de Lurigancho Prison three or four days a week to visit prisoners. Conditions there were bad, and out of five thousand prisoners only one thousand were sentenced. The rest were pending sentence or perhaps innocent. Sr Joan used to try to bring them some relief – medicines for some, a kind word for others and news about how their legal papers were progressing in the Ministry for Justice. The majority of prisoners came from the poor sectors of Lima, therefore, no money - no legal support.'
On the morning of 14 December 1983, a group of prisoners decided to try to escape. They took as hostages Sr Joan, three Marist Sisters and several social workers. After all day negotiations with the prison authorities, it was agreed that the prisoners and their hostages would be allowed leave the prison in the evening in an ambulance. They were no sooner outside the prison gate when the police riddled the ambulance with bullets from all sides. Four bullets struck Joan and when they removed her from the ambulance she was already dead.
Each year around this time a huge procession takes place in the form of a peace march to remember this tragic event. Yesterday was the day. Two massive processions converged from different directions to the site of the cross. The organising committee for this year had decided on a ‘no drug’ theme; you may notice the word ‘drogas’ on the banners.
We are on the move, or in reality we started to close up the gap between our group and the one in front! Each parish or region was given a colour and we marched behind the cream flag. That is Joao out the front with the flag. This was also a very effective means for all the late comers to find out where there group was.

By the time we neared the end the crowd had reached massive numbers and it is very hard to even show this on camera. You must also remember that this was only half of the group, the crowd marching up the valley had already reached the end.

The traffic is hopeless, they can see the march, they can see that there will be a delay - but that does not stop them from continually leaning on their horns!

At the end of the march we all gathered in front of the stage they had constructed for the day, the band was in full swing and the amplifier system was cranked up to force ten! The band was the Columban Regional Director's, Father Diego Cabrera, and that is him on the microphone. They were fantastic, the young people fired up to their music. At the back of the stage you can see a picture of Joan Sawyer.

The actual cross is constructed of two old, bent tree branches and it is worth noting that every time we pass it on the way into Lima it has fresh flowers placed at its base. People remember Joan Sawyer and what she was trying to achieve.

If you look closely you may see the Bishop of the Diocese of Chosica, Bishop Strotmann Hoppe M.S.C., in the crowd. Chosica is the name of this particular Diocese of Lima.

The cross was slowly carried forward and placed in front of the stage. It was most impressive because the cross bearers slowly sway in time with the music as they walk forward.

Towards the end we looked at each other and decided to quietly depart and catch a bus up the valley before hundreds of others thought of doing the same. There was a fair chance that it would have been chaos when proceedings finished. A bit like leaving Mass before it ends!