Weekend Trip out of Lima

Several of us took a weekend trip to Paracas and Islas Ballestas . It was a 4 hour van ride south of Lima. Needless to say it was fun. The highlight for me was a dune buggy ride through the desert. I'm certain that this was something that would never be offered in the states. At least not without an extraordinary amount of legal waivers and precautions.

We were given some cheap goggles, a big smile and then it was vaya con Dios. I guess I was given special instructions to keep my elbow away from the rear wheel that was spinning awkwardly by my particular seat in the buggy. I also noted that some bailing wire was wound around the CV joint. It was a nice touch and something I tried not to dwell on. The ride was more fun than any roller coaster in the states.

Towards the end of the ride we did a little sand boarding which is basically like sled riding. Just swap out the hill and snow for a sand dune and you get the idea. Trekking back UP the sand dune was a little harder than snow.

The drive down and back was really depressing. I quickly realized the scope of the "problem" in Peru. Hundreds upon hundreds of shacks made of woven mats from plants line the pan American highway. These are the shelters of the people that work this mainly agricultural area of Peru. There are also 100's of industrial size chicken coops that line the coastline. I'm guessing that the coastline is the best place because the ocean catches the runoff (for better or worse).  So, the Peruvians living in mat "shacks" don't even get to live on the side of the highway with the ocean view!  Sometimes you just can't win.

We all returned safely and were eager to start our second week of placements.

I guess I should add that another highlight to the trip was the hotel. We stayed one night in a double tree. I took a hot shower!!  Reading this back home you probably don't think thats a big deal but after a week at the CCS house in Lima it was pure heaven!!  We had a TV. It was in Spanish but we watched it for a while. The titles were great.  Los Simpsons was on TV. That's reassuring that its made it to Peru....We had a great dinner with fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes.  Also had to sample a Peruvian Cabernet wine---it was delicious.  The breakfast was great on Sunday morning.

Hopefully I will be able to show you some of the pictures from Dee's camera that showed the best color variation of the rocks, the penquins and sea lions....which she did a better job of zooming in and you could almost touch them from our boat ride to Ballestas Islands.

There are also a few other "quirks" in the plumbing at CCS that didn't apply at the double tree. Current and previous volunteers probably know what I'm talking about. I'll spare the casual reader the details.