Peru 2009

Well, my big trip has come and gone. It was incredible and amazing. By the end of two weeks I was definitely ready to come home, but now I'm ready to go back. We worked in a village named Santa Rosa, a small community in the Amazon. These people are very kind and loving and humble. They welcomed us with open arms and drum/flute playing as we entered the village for the first time. The kids took our hands and walked with us everywhere. Every morning as we arrived in the village, they would be out by the river waiting for us. We stayed at a lodge called Heliconia. It was very nice. They have a pet Mckaw and tarantula and many various forms of spiders :) We rode fast boats into the village every day... very picturesque. The sky is bluer there and the clouds are fluffier. When it rains, it pours and you better move it or you will be drenched and never dry. However, the humidity is so high anyway, I don't think I was ever fully dry the whole 2 weeks of being there. Also, it may be a while before I eat white rice, fish, and eggs... we sure got a lot of that! Here are the pictures I have. More will come later as I get some from others.

Our sleeping quarters in Lima, Peru for the night. I can officially say I've slept on an airport floor... and don't ever want to do that again.



walking off the plane in Iquitos


We visited a manatee rescue while we were there




Here is where the library started...


And the finished product...


Working hard for a new basketball court... can you say BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS!?


Pirahna fishing - I caught 4 catfish... does that count for something?


I held a sloth!!!


After our jungle walk. We were DRENCHED. We didn't see much wildlife, but I did get bit by something I think is called a fire ant. When it bites you... you want to scream. Our guide, hyacko ("Jacko"), a native jungle man, just told us to keep moving and the pain would go away... ten minutes of searing pain!


Here is the medical clinic




We had a carnival our last day there. This is their version of a pinata. They cut down a tree, plant it in the ground, hang gifts from it, and then we dance around it for about an hour (it seemed). Then everyone takes turns with a machetti to chop the tree down. The tree almost took one of our own as it fell to the ground! Then we all raced for the goodies!


"Jacko" The best guide ever!


Victor took us on a tour of the city of Belen. This is a very poor city. There is no where for trash so it just ends up on the ground. They have latrines on the river, and many of their houses float when the river rises during the rainy season. We were in the Belen market and it was just like a scene from a movie as we saw two mormon missionaries coming toward us. We talked to them for a minute. It was really cool.




Cathedral in Lima


Our last night we went to this fancy restaurant on the ocean, the Rosa Nautica. It was incredible.