Family Visit

July 2nd – July 13th, 2007 Lima, Peru

Family Visit

Today I saw my family for the first in 1 year and 12 days. Everyone got to come including my sister and brother and it was truly great to see and hear and touch them after such a long absence. We did many family things like play cards and Scrabble but also saw a good part of Peru. I´ll give a little bit of commentary on each site.

Machu Picchu

Across the world there has been a huge campaign to vote for the New 7 World Wonders. We were actually here the day before the grand announcement. Machu Picchu came in fourth and now I only have to visit 6 others. It was truly beautiful and lived up to all the hype. It is amazing how intact the ruins still are after over 800 years of climate change. I hiked up the Waynapicchu mountain which presents an incredible view of the ruins. I highly recommend doing the 1 hour hike as well as the trip in general.

Cusco

Cusco is where the Incans ran most of the empire. There is now a colonial feel to the city despite the fact that it is a tourist trap. The blend of Incan and Spanish architecture makes for a quaint atmosphere. We visited the most important cathedrals and a few other landmarks.

Lima

We didn´t have a whole lot of time in Lima but that was fine because well….Lima isn´t that great. The catacombs were pretty interesting and there was a changing of the guard in front of the president´s house. Like always, there is an upside to visiting Lima. The food options multiply sevenfold.

Trujillo

We stayed in the small beach town outside of Trujillo. We visited ruins of a pre-Incan civilization called Chan Chan. These ruins were more similar to those you would find in Egypt or Mayan cultures. They were vast in size and the experience was pretty cool overall. We did other beach type things there before heading in to the town of Trujillo and exploring its various cathedrals. I also ate the best calamari of my life at Picante Mar.

La Encantada

We then headed to Piura and to my site. Several people were very anxious to meet my family. My host family really enjoyed the visit and I think my biological family is very content with the care they are providing me. The artisans demonstrated the 16 step process that each piece of ceramic goes through. I think the family was impressed by the complexity and detail that goes into making each piece. The next day we bought combined 3 big cardboard boxes full of ceramics. We headed out to one of the fields to get a taste of what the farmer´s lives are like and enjoyed watermelon as the sun set. Dad got to have quite the dialogue with one of the local farmers about farming in the area. We ate the typical celebratory meal of the zone and soon settled to bed because everyone has been pretty wiped by all the traveling the trip entails.

Mancora

After getting the ceramics all packed up and saying goodbye to everyone in town we headed out to Mancora. This is a touristy beach town in northern Peru near the Ecuadorian border. Some may think it is too touristy but we Volunteers love it because it’s a little taste of the States. There is one place that serves the best breakfast in Peru. Jeannette, Josh and I all gave a go at surfing. Josh was a natural and got up several times but Jeannette and I were happy to get up the few times we did. Besides that, we mostly just did beach stuff like eat and relax. Dad didn´t want to leave but eventually we had to head back to Piura. We spent the day in Piura visiting the market which is always exciting to do in foreign country. We ate lunch with my good friend Ryan and then I put them on a bus back to Lima to catch their flight.