Day 5: Puno

We woke up on a Friday. Not the best night’s sleep: suffered from a bit of a headache. Most likely from a combination of bad sleep and altitude. It is easy for the body to become exhausted at such a high altitude. We went to the dining hall for breakfast where we saw all the girls moving about, setting the tables and serving, or sitting down waiting. The orphan girls were so cute and sweet. Most of us in our group either couldn’t speak Spanish or could only speak a little (Father as the one exception), so our ways of greeting them were simply, “Buenos días” or just a great big smile :D They totally loved having us there. They always talked and laughed amongst themselves, glancing over at us, and then smiling really big. Then they would turn away and laugh and smile some more. As soon as we walked in the room every time for meals… all eyes were on us.

The whole week breakfast was basically just bread, jam and tea. I was beginning to get a little weary of the lack of nutrition we were getting in Peru. After breakfast we visited the Mary Bloom Center.

The Mary Bloom Center began in 1994 by Fr. Bloom while he was serving as missionary in nearby Ilave and is named after his mother. It is a crisis pregnancy center as well as a tutoring center for children and teens. The crisis pregnancy center provides medical services to pregnant mothers, as well as courses in love, chastitiy, self-esteem, and natural family planning to pregnant mothers, married couples, doctors, midwives, and nurses. The center also provides medicine, food, clothes, scholarships, and school supplies. In Puno and nearby outlying areas staff at the Mary Bloom Center assess whether children are at risk of dropping out of school. If so, they are invited to attend daily tutoring help at the Mary Bloom Center during the school year. A Catholic summer camp is arranged for them while the children are out of school. click here for CNA article on Mary Bloom Center

Here is a picture of most of our group with the staff at the Mary Bloom Center:

Giving the staff supplies we brought from the States

The following are some pictures of the Mary Bloom Center:

Something I found interesting was often how nicely the Peruvians would dress… by the way they presented themselves, no one would ever know they were poor, yet their living conditions were awful. I suppose with so little money in the culture we live in today, body image would be top priority. And American culture is definitely seeping into cultures around the world. It’s so sad that cover girls are on billboards everywhere modeling a clothing or makeup product, in a poverty-stricken country.

Something else that was quite noticeable were the ads. Ads are not all that different in Peru then they are in the United States. However, if the ad had a woman on it, it was without a doubt, almost always a white female. Not so sure dark skin is as coveted down south as it is up north.

After the Mary Bloom Center we walked around town. At one point there was a procession right through the streets. At the front was a coffin held up by about four guys. Apparently it’s not uncommon for a procession through the streets of town to be done during a funeral. We also visited Father’s favorite bakery, which as the week went by, became our favorite bakery as well. The reason for this we very soon determined was how American it was. In other words, we liked it so much because we felt at home. Well, later we learned the bakery (Ricos Pan) was where the high class of Puno would go. Shows how dramatically different the social classes are in Peru vs. America.

The rest of the afternoon was free time, and Nonna and I just sat out in the sun, reading. We were in Peru at the end of December and beginning of January which is summer in South America. Due to the altitude in Puno though, it’s actually much cooler. Anytime we told anyone we were on our way to Puno they would always rub their arms and exclaim, “oohh mucho frío!” I finally asked Jorge whether it was really as cold as people said it was, since it didn’t seem possible for it to be colder than the north. And it definitely wasn’t. In fact, when it was sunny with little or no breeze, it felt just like a Seattle summer. This was mainly because of how strong the sun was at the altitude we were at. This also meant we needed to be really careful about sun exposure. We unfortunately found out later (and the hard way), this is really difficult to do.

While we were sitting in the sun in this little spot at the orphanage...

...four of the girls asked us if we wanted to play volleyball with them. I understood what they were asking! I was so proud of myself! The Spanish class I took during the fall quarter before leaving for Peru really helped me communicate with the Peruvians, obviously on an extremely basic level, but nonetheless it proved to be very helpful.

Later in the evening we had a group meeting to discuss Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday when we would be directing the first days of the summer camp for the tutoring kids at the Mary Bloom Center. Nonna and I were going to be the main directors which came as a bit of a shock to us both since we weren’t expecting so much responsibility. We bounced around some ideas and put together a tentative schedule for each day. We had the weekend (and pretty much the weekend only) to plan each day’s activities, along with sometime in the afternoon to discuss the next day’s plan. Planning and implementing 4 hours for three days is more challenging and time-consuming than it looks, even if it’s only three days.

My advice to you after this experience: don’t take for granted the directors and coordinators of events you attend no matter how short the events are!

Day 4 (continued): Bus Ride to Puno

Upon leaving Arequipa, we started our ascent up the mountain and into poorer country. We only stopped two times during the 7-hour drive, both for bathroom breaks.

Our first bathroom stop was quite a site:

Even though none of us really wanted to use this bathroom, Father and our guide, Jorge, told us there would be no guarantee we would get anything better. Good thing we took their advice because the second stop was much worse...

This is the town of Juliaca, “The ugliest town in the area,” to quote Jorge’s words.We didn’t get a picture of the actual toilet, but it was a squat toilet with no light (hence the flashlight), outside and in the dirt, with no door. (Although the last bathroom didn't have a door either, I suppose we should not have been too surprised about that!)

The hardest part of traveling through this town was the reality that people live like this. Unfortunately, our pictures weren't coming out too well because of the dark, but the conditions were evidently very poor. It was pouring down rain as we drove through Juliaca, and since the town’s drainage system is so bad, the mud streets were flooded and the roads were so bumpy, the little bicycle buggies were almost tipping over. In fact, we witnessed one...

Many of us were fearing we might be in the same pickle! And even the bigger cars around looked like they were going to tip. Even in the rain, the streets were crowded on every corner with residents continuing to sell things. And like everywhere in Peru, the streets were crazy noisy with the constant honking of horns and wild driving. It was quite an experience.

After a loud, bumpy ride through Juliaca, we would be reaching Puno in less than 45 minutes. This stretch of roadway was the best finale to the day, because the stormy weather got crazier. I have never seen such awesome lightning before in my life. And this wouldn't be the last of lightning and thunder during our stay in Puno. The whole sky lighted up the horizon complete with lightning bolts and thunder. It was quite a show!

We arrived at night so we couldn’t see a lot of Puno, but under the darkness was a panoramic view:

I found these pictures online, but the roads were such that we had similar views of the town.

In the back of the above picture is Lake Titicaca, which is located on the border as the natural separation between Peru and Bolivia. It is also the world's highest navigable lake at the elevation of 12,500 feet.

According to Inca Mythology, the god Viracocha emerged from the lake after a great flood to create the world. First, he created the sun, moon and stars, then created the first people, Manco Capac, the first Inca king, and Mama Ocllo: the “Adam and Eve” of the Incas. Viracocha formed them from stone, brought them to life, and commanded them to populate the world. Lake Titcaca is therefore considered the birthplace of the Inca civilization.

An ancient temple submerged in Lake Titicaca was discovered in 2000 during an international archaeological expedition. The structure, almost twice the size of a soccer field, was found when a road beginning near Copacabana, Bolivia was followed down into the depths of the lake. Further study of the ruins will be done by the Bolivian government and the plan is to eventually bring the temple to the surface. It is estimated that the temple is between 1,000 and 1,500 years old.

Lake Titicaca is also renowned for its beautiful deep blue color and is one of the largest, highest and deepest lakes in the world. (source)

We were dropped off at the orphanage and greeted by the orphan girls and one of the sisters who showed us all to our rooms.

We would be in Puno for one week doing mission work.

Day 3 & 4: Arequipa

Arequipa is located in southern Peru and it’s the second largest city after Lima.

Arequipa is in the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 7,661 ft above sea level. The below picture is the volcano El Misti which overlooks the city. This picture was taken upon exiting our airplane.

The main reason for visiting Arequipa before going to Puno (the town of mission work), was to prepare for the high altitude of Puno which is at 12,421 feet. To give you an idea of how high that is, Mt. Rainier has an altitude of 14,411 feet. Altitude sickness can begin around 8,000 feet, but serious symptoms can occur upon reaching 12,000 feet. After living at this altitude for seven years and continuing with yearly visits, Father has become accustomed to the altitude, so when he first started taking groups with him to Peru, the flight was scheduled to go straight from Lima to Puno. He told us every person in his group got altitude sickness. Since the most effective cure to altitude sickness is getting lower, the group was forced to return to a lower altitude. Slowly ascending the mountain will decrease altitude sickness dramatically, so Arequipa has since become a common stop for Father’s group to Peru especially since it is a beautiful mountain town. Arequipa was one of my favorite places we stayed, and the hotel we stayed at, the Mama Tila Hotel, was a winner!

The above picture was taken on the accessible roof, and the following pictures are of the surrounding view and other miscellaneous pictures :)

The mountain, El Misti, again

Nonna... note the shorts. Oh how I miss that weather!

our room from an above view

Father and Van at the breakfast table

Our guide, Jorge, wearing the popular "Peru" shirt

Not only was the hotel nice and clean but it was inexpensive and uniquely built. The Lindenau family had a huge room with six twin beds and a small living area with couches and chairs. We weren’t too high that it was freezing cold but it wasn’t too hot either: it was a glorious temperature with the sun shining the whole time! Even the town was cute... and walking through it was quite a joy. Later on, especially during our drive from Arequipa to Puno we saw some pretty disgusting towns (and bathrooms), some of the worst I've ever seen.

We enjoyed Arequipa for the afternoon and evening. We ate lunch at a nice restaurant on a balcony looking over the main town square with the cathedral of Arequipa within our view, also looking over the town square.

I tried alpaca meat which was in a sandwich and so delicious! It was nothing like the first restaurant we went to thankfully. Father said that at a high end restaurant like the one we were at, chicken soup with feet wouldn’t be served. Phew!

It was a little cold at the restaurant since we were seated outside, so look how cute... they gave us ponchos to keep us warm! :)

We walked around town some more... did some shopping, saw the inside of the cathedral and went out for dinner.

After a rested night’s sleep, I woke up, took a warm shower and had a delicious breakfast cooked and served upon my arrival at the table :) definitely a recipe for a good mood! We then met at 10:30 for mass and rosary making practice. Since we would be instructing the children how to make the rosaries when we began our mission work in Puno, it was necessary that we had time to help each other and practice.

A huge blessing during this trip was how much free time Father gave us to rest. Mostly allowing us to meet at 10am or 10:30 so we could sleep in, and giving us afternoon time as well to rest. A downside however (especially for me) was lack of breakfast and eating during normal, regular times. Sometimes we would eat lunch at 2pm after little or no breakfast and eating dinner at 10pm. Rarely was time specifically cut out for breakfast. This was a huge sacrifice for me because I was weak from lack of energy and couldn’t stop thinking about when we would eat next. It was always difficult for me to find snacks too since I’m not a huge fan of chips, granola bars, energy bars and the like – which are typical snack foods while traveling. Plus food in Peru is not the same as the United States so it was hard to find familiar American food in the stores.

After we made sandwiches and packed our things and other food, we began our afternoon bus ride to Puno!