Paracas Party

Hello again. I am trying to stick it out and blog regularly-ish until we leave...it’s not working out too well, as you can see.

This past Wednesday, March 17, we went on a family day trip to Paracas, Peru. We had wanted to visit here and had been looking forward to it since February. Paracas is about three hours south of Lima (driving) and is home to a national marine reserve and also really nice beaches.

We woke up at 3:30 to get ready. Our driver, Javier, picked us up at our apartment in a 16-passenger van. Just for us! Never had I been so glad of a big family in my life! ha. Javier waited for a while and then drove to another part of Lima for another lady who was coming. I thought she was just a passenger, but it turns out, Ursula was a tour guide! Big family strikes again!

We started on our three-hour ride. It was weird to see the roads so empty. Once we got outside of Lima, everything was just dirt. Hills and hills of dirt-sand stuff. We also saw a lot of “los pueblos jovenes,” or shantytowns. About thirty years ago in Peru, the Shining Path terrorists were killing many people in the mountains. As a result, those Andean mountain families moved to Lima in masses. There were no places for them to stay, so they just camped out pretty much where there were open spaces. The houses were just tin walls and roofs, not very good living spaces at all. Some of those communities are in Lima, like Pamplona Alta. But these homes were in the middle of nowhere! It was weird. Then there were new houses (still small and brick) in clumps. Ursula told us that some politicians give money to help build the houses (to earn support). Then the people paint the politicians’ names on the sides of their houses. I guess it’s a win-win situation.

We arrived in Paracas after at about 7:30. Ursula led us to the port to get in line for our boat ride. Dad wrote all our names down on a list, on which you had to say your nationality. It was pretty cool to see that there were people there from Germany, Russia, and the Netherlands! Then we got on the boat. It seated about 30 people I think, give or take a few. The boat guide spoke in Spanish and then in English, so I was very thankful for that. We went about fifteen minutes (motor boat) to an island with some Nasca lines! No one knows who made them or why, but they think that an ancient civilization used it for orientation (a sort of landmark that helped them know where they were). It was pretty cool. Nasca (with the famous Nasca lines in the ground) is within 3 hours of Paracas. Next we went to a bigger island, called Guano Island. It was rightfully named. I felt sick at the overwhelming stench of bird doo. It was rather large island with thousands of birds. I am not exaggerating for once. There were literally thousands of pelicans and seagulls. I am surprised no one on the boat got pooped on; there were many seagulls flying over us all the time. Way cooler than the birds were the sea lions! Yes, sea lions in their natural habitat! It was extremely awesome. They were lying on the rocks, and we even saw some in the water around the boat. We literally got 5 or 6 feet away from them! Later we stopped by a swimming lesson. A mother sea lion was teaching her baby how to swim! The pup was only about a foot long and could only doggie-paddle with its head above the water. Once, the mother disappeared, and the baby was swimming around, calling for it. Then suddenly, the mom popped up right next to the pup and barked. It was just really cool! We also saw the nursery, where all the pups were. There were females watching them, and also males. The males were just fighting, not watching the babies. Typical. That whole beach was really loud; all the barking and the wailing made it sound like something out of a horror film.

After the amazing boat ride, we decided to go onto the marine reserve. I was thinking that there was nothing to reserve because all of it was just hills and hills and stretches of this weird sand-dirt stuff. I cannot believe that people lived there. “Barren” is a good name for it. But the Paracas civilization did exist; they found a cemetery in a couple of the sand hills. The mummies are now in a national museum. The sand is good for something: sand boarding. It’s like boogie boarding, except on sand. A lot of people go to Ica (an hour away) to do that because the sand is softer there.

After taking pictures at some viewpoints, we all spent some time on the beach. It was refreshing to play in the waves for a while, but hiking up the enormous sand hill was not so fun. Following the beach, Ursula and Javier led us to a little cove on one end of the reserve. It was so cute!! There were three little seafood restaurants and a small bay with more of the sparkling sapphire waters. The seafood (“chita,” or rock fish) was really good. Probably because it was fresh—they still had a tray of freshly-caught fish on the counter. Then we sat by the water and watched Rebekah and Elijah swim. (The water was way too cold for my liking.)
On our way home, we got caught in some rush hour traffic (so frustrating!) but that was it. A long day, but extremely beautiful and restful. I really loved Paracas!

Yes, I am alive.

Sorry about not posting for a while! We actually have not been doing that much. This past Saturday we didn't really do that much because my dad was just getting back from Puno, Peru. Puno is high up in the southern mountains of Peru. It is also home to Lake Titicaca, the highest freshwater lake in the world (15,000 feet!). The lake is so south that it shares a border with Bolivia (but the lake is really big, so it isn't like Dad was right next to Bolivia...). He is now in Tarapoto, Peru. It's another jungle area. He showed us a video of a tapir from a reserve...SCARY ANIMAL. Seriously, it's really gross and weird.

We only have two more weeks here! I really can't believe it. Actually I can because it feels like we have been here a really long time. Some guy thought we were Peruvian! I was like YES! But then I guess it was just him because we must look pretty non-Peruvian. We were in a taxi on the way to Reina de la Paz, and there was a lot of traffic, so we were really close to other cars. Another taxi pulled up beside us, and the driver kind of looked at us for a minute. Then he smiled and was like, "Hi!" (People are always wanting to try out their English.) Mom waved and said "hi" back. It was funny; that happened to us before.
Reina de la Paz (the teen mom home we go to on Tuesdays) has been going pretty well. The girls are starting school again, so the kids are in the daycare now. We didn't really get to interact with them that much. The head worker put me and Dad and Raul (our taxi driver) to work! Dad laid down foam squares on the floor. Then I glued foam to the wall. Add some plastic balls, and the daycare has a ball pit! It's a really good idea! I almost died from inhaling too much glue fumes, though. The stuff was like rubber cement times ten! Plus the area was kind of enclosed. It was worth it to see the babies' faces, though. The daycare has all of the girls' babies, but then they also take in ten kids from the community too! That is a lot of work, but the nannies are awesome.

There was a little girl there who only had one eye. Her dad was fighting with her mom, and he started to beat the mom up. Then he kicked the little girl in the face. Doctors had to remove her eye, I guess. It was really sad and hard. Who is so low that they would kick an adorable, precious two-year-old? I mean, really. The mom is in another teen home like Reina called Domi. The homes are working to try to get an eye for the girl, whose name is Fiorela. Cute name, just like the kid. Seriously, she is so precioius. Please pray for her and her mom. And the dad, although it's hard for me to say that. But I guess he needs a lot of help too.

It's tough seeing all those little kids who need help here. We saw another little boy selling candy yesterday. He just had a big bag of individually wrapped candy. Mom gave him our lunch leftovers and some money. I wanted to take him home with us. All the kids who sell stuff on the street have vacant looks in their eyes. If I had my way, I would have about 100 Peruvian children by now. Probably more.
So it's tough, but we are making it. Two weeks, wow. I remember when we had 70 days left. But now we are practically Peruvian, so it's cool :)
I will post more...probably about food...Thanks for your prayers!
Mags:)

Saturday Fun

This past Saturday we went back to the Indian Market to get souvenirs. Very touristy, gotta love it.
The Indian Market is within walking distance, so of course we walked. It was a nice day but very, very warm. When the sun comes out, Lima becomes very warm. We walked through some neighboring apartment regions to a main street that leads to Parque Kennedy. I think I have blogged about it before, that it's the center of Miraflores and everything. Lots of shops surrounding the main green area. Yeah, I think I did. So we walked there, and then you have to go down a couple of side streets and stuff, and then you turn onto the long street lined with markets. There are little shops selling paintings and Incan things too. A lot of the shops and stores before the Indian Market are filled with decoration things--rugs, paintings, wall hangings, jars, sculptures, etc. And a lot of it is in the Incan style stuff (like the stereotypical native Peruvian patterns).
There are two main markets, the Indian Market and the Inka Plaza. They are across the street from one another. The Inka Plaza is a little smaller and spread-out than the Indian Market. I personally like the Indian Market better. The deal about the prices is that 1) you can bargain to get the price you want, and 2) the prices are pretty darn good. When you figure it out, you can get a t-shirt for like mmmm well they ask for 25 soles, but that's a little high. Twenty-five soles comes out to around maybe 9 bucks?? So 9 dollars for a t-shirt is pretty good. Purses go for around 20 soles (around 7 dollars). Soccer jerseys are pretty well-priced also. Love it! I could look around there for a long time if I was a shopper. But alas, I am not. So I was pretty tired after spending 3 hours at the Inka Plaza with my family. But we got a lot of stuff done, so that was good.
Next we took a taxi over to Larcomar (the mall by the sea and within walking distance of our house). The kids grabbed a couple of tables in the shade while Mom and Dad ordered food. Not just any food--Pardo's Chicken. I had never tried it before, but I had heard about it. Now I can understand why. It was amazing. Rotisserie chicken, french fries, salad, and Inca Kola made my day. Inca Kola is an amazing soda found in Peru. It's bright yellow and tastes kind of like a bubblegum cream soda...?? Mmm I don't know how to describe it, but it's really good. We ordered a lot of food but ate a lot of it. I was glad we had leftovers; a lady with her family asked for the leftover package as we were walking out. Dad was glad to give it to her, and the woman was very grateful. I felt bad that we didn't have more to give her. But you can never be totally prepared, you know?
I had a pretty good day with my family. Good company and good food make for a great time. Despite almost dying of heat stroke and starvation in the market (kidding!), it was good :) I will post pictures soon. I think I might do an entire post about the food...
Mags :)

More Huaraz Pictures!

All photos are taken by Emily Wetzel. :)

More Huaraz...Day Three

After our party-hearty time the previous night, Emily and I slept well (our last night in our hotel beds..). We met Dad and Jorge again for breakfast (another wonderfully delicious buffet). Then Emily and I went back to our room while Dad and Jorge went to another meeting. We didn't stay in our room for long; soon my sister and I were camped out in front of hotel computers. I spent (wasted?) almost an hour on Facebook, trying to catch up with what was going on at home. Emily finally wrote me a message: we needed to go clean up our room so we could check out of the hotel later. After dragging myself away from the Internet, I headed back to the room with Emily. There we watched TV, packed up our stuff, and waited for Dad and Jorge to return.
Dad came to our room; the poor man couldn't ge into contact with the people he had wanted to talk to. Short meeting, huh? We made a plan to gather in the hotel lobby with our bags and then go to eat lunch. Lunch was spent in a cute little ovalo sort of thing: a fountain surrounded by restaurants. Like always, Dad insisted it was a gringo trap, but I was so hungry I didn't care. A huge burger at an international restaurant curbed my hunger. By the way, when they say "International," it's most likely Italian food (spaghetti and pizza) and also burgers.
Next we went back to the hotel, although we couldn't go back to our rooms. So we stuck to the lobby, where I spent more time on Facebook and looked up stuff on Huaraz. By the time we had gotten back from lunch, it was almost 4:00, so we had only a few hours before we met for supper. We were supposed to meet at a French restaurant (well, as French as a restaurant can get in the middle of Peru..) but we found out they didn't take Visa, so Jorge called Yenina. She gave the name of a place further down the street. Jorge led us to it...very quickly. We must have looked hilarious speed-walking after a Peruvian man down the lit streets of Huaraz.
We ate at the restaurant...another pizza place that I LOVED! It was so cool; flags and posters covered the walls and ceiling. It was very cool. During the meal, we talked with our friends from the party while Dad, Jorge, Yenina, and a doctor talked about Dad's program and the area's parasites (great dinner conversation, right?) I had a good time and enjoyed both the company and the pizza. Our group said goodbyes and exchanged email addresses. Then we went back to the hotel, got our stuff, and went to the bus station.
I nearly had a nervous breakdown at the bus station. The man in charge said that everyone needed to have their passports (or some sort of identification) and their tickets ready. Emily was all set, but Dad and I were like OH NO. Our passports were in Dad's suitcase, which was...already packed on the bus. Uh oh. Dad had a copy of his, but I was about to be left behind in Huaraz. Dad told Emily not to show her passport right away; maybe we could squeak past since we were obviously Dad's daughters. Well, no such luck. Dad showed his passport and got checked off a list, but then the man asked for Emily's too. I was like OH MAN I AM SO DEAD. The guy checked Emily's name off....and then mine too! He waved us all through. I was incredibly relieved (and although Dad didn't say so, I could tell he was too). I mean, it's not like I didn't have a passport, but we would have had to dig out Dad's bag from the bus and all that stuff. Maybe my resemblance to Dad has finally paid off!
After all that ordeal, we went safely home to Lima. Never was I so glad to see the crowded streets, cloudy skies, and crazy taxis. Home sweet home :) I am really glad I got to go see a different part of Peru. Lima and Huaraz differ in so many ways. I felt like I got a full experience of the real Peru, not just the modern city. Thank you for your prayers!
Mags:)

"Dude, what's he saying?"

Please keep in mind that this story is told from my perspective, which a lot of times is told in a sarcastic or dramatic way. :)
This morning my wonderful parents got me up at 8:30. Boy, I love that on a Saturday morning! *groan* Then they went to do some errands. By the time Mom and Dad came back, all us kids were ready to go to Callao.
Callao is another part of Lima (kind of like Barranco is). It's also where the airport is, so I kind of knew what to expect (what it looked like and stuff). Callao kind of reminds me of Huaraz except a little more spread-out and cleaner. Kind of like a slower-paced part of Lima. Callao is pronounced "kiyow." Say it with a karate stance, and it helps. KiYOW!!
Anyways, we rode in a taxi to a very old fort in Callao. It was built to keep out pirates and other such "bad guys." Think Pirates of the Caribbean. So we got there and were met by a group of four soldiers, some of who were holding rifles. Friendly place, right? We were told that the next tour was in 30 minutes, so guess what we did? Following family tradition, we wandered around around, of course! You know that's right.
My family and I walked down a street, guided by a lady who maybe worked for the city...or the fort? I actually have no clue who she was, but I think she was a city guide or something. She took us down to a police memorial/display site. It was filled with statues of policemen wearing their various uniforms and holding various guns and standing in front of various tanks and SWAT (SUAT ha) trucks. It was pretty interesting, but we had to get back to the fort to get on the tour.
Braving the extreme humidity and intense heat, we made our way back to the fort where we got inside (not before roasting ourselves outside--all the bricks make the place like an adobe oven!). To start the tour, we watched a movie--all in Spanish. Of course. We were all like, "They could have at least put English subtitles!" But alas, it was not to be. At one point I asked Emily, "Dude, what's he saying?" She was like, "I....don't really know." That pretty much sums up the whole tour--not understood at all. We got to see some replicas of uniforms, paintings of generals, and artifacts from the fort, though. All that history was pretty cool. It truly did remind me of Pirates of the Caribbean. The parts I did understand were things like, "Follow me," "let's go," "silence please," and some other words thrown in with the tour. I did understand a lot more than I had hoped though. They talk really fast in Lima, so that makes it more difficult to follow. One funny thing was a guy pretending to be a mannequin and then scaring people as they took pictures of him. Then he was just creepy. It didn't help that I had NO IDEA what he was saying.
A really awesome part of the tour was going up into one of the towers and getting to see the city. There was a 360-degree view of Callao, very beautiful. I wondered what the fort was like when it was being used. Pretty cool, although the guide apparently said that they had an outbreak of bubonic plague. Ew.
By the end of the tour, we were thoroughly educated on the fort and baked to a crisp. And hungry because it was 3 o'clock! So we hopped into a taxi and drove off for the Larcomar, a mall by the ocean. (It was probably more like dragged and crammed ourselves into the taxi. We have to cram 6 of us in the backseat--no seatbelts or anything. Lucky Dad gets the front seat.)At Larcomar, we went to Chifa, a Chinese restaurant, for Emily's half-birthday. She is 16 and a half :) (I have been there 3 times before while on the mission trip.)We sank into the seats and ate. And ate. And ate. I promise you, it's the best Chinese food I have EVER eaten. I love it. So it was a great ending to a great day with family. My crazy, adventurous family. :)
Mags:)

oops.

Make sure you read the post "Huaraz Day One" before you read "Huaraz Day Two." They are in the wrong order. I must have forgotten to post day one before doing day two. Arghhhhhhhhhh. Sorry!