Junior and I have been in Llanchama most of the week getting to know the population.

I have helped bring water from the river, given piggy-back rides, played soccer and been rocked to sleep in a hamock by the breezes off the Nanay river.

However, the indomitable spirit of the children continues to amaze me! In this region, vegetables is used as a term to mean natural plants and herbal remedies which from the photos shows you just how strong these children are, they´d give Popeye a run for his money!

On Friday May 30 2008, we left Iquitos early to go to Llanchama, this village where the people are really nice. Unfortunately the buses( Combis) can not reach Llanchama because in this rainy season, the road is extremely bad. They stop at Nina Rumi, the village next to Llanchama. We got to Nina Rumi at about 11:15 AM. From there we took a boat to cross the Nanay River. It took us about 30 mn to get to Llanchama. The experience was very interesting. The boat owner told us that per day he makes 10 trips from Nina Rumi to Llanchama with at least 10 persons aboard. Each passenger pays only 2 soles.

Once we arrive in Llanchama, we met the director of the school and the municipal agent who were very friendly. We spent about 2 hours socializing with them and another young professor at the school, playing guitar,  and singing. Before leaving we planned our activities of the following day with the municipal agent.

Everyone in the village was very happy about our presence and they were really eager to help us doing all the activities.

The road to Llanchama is a wide dirt track that is often muddy due to the frequent rains and it takes almost an hour to traverse the 4 miles from the main road.

On Monday and Tuesday, we EWBers did our version of an Extreme Homemaker but in the local school. When we visited on Friday, we realized that the classrooms were in need of some sprucing up. The school children didn´t have enough desks and many were standing during the six-hour school day. 

 So we did the impossible. With the help of our driver Jack, we found a carpenter who could make 15 new L-shaped desk tops to repair those missing and we ordered 10 new desks to seat 2 children or sufficient for 20 children. Of course, we needed all the materials by Monday evening! Due to the short time period, all of the material would given to us unassembled and unvarnished. 

On Monday, we put tops on 15 broken desks and prepared a classroom for painting. We had numerous helpers which made the work more fun and helped build community ownership. 

Jeremiah and Chris with Dr. Orihuela and Dr. Lalor´s help assembled all 10 desks because several students were sick and the first crew had painted in the hot humid Amazon heat.

We send a special thanks to Chris who actually thought to bring tools! At this point, we all would have welcomed a cooling rain! 

Also special thanks to all of our very special helpers who caught on within minutes of the exact tools and pieces of wood that Jeremiah and Chris needed to assemble the desks. Amazing kids!

The boat throbs under our feet and waves crash as we cruise up the Nanay river towards the point where all three Amazonian rivers join, the dark coffee color mixes with the cafe con leche color.

On this beautiful Sunday morning the sun crests and rises over the Amazon river, the clouds are pushed away revealing verdant jungle teeming with life. This early morning scenry feeds the soul and warms the heart placing a big cheesy grin on my face. I can´t stop smiling as birds fly over head and pink dolphin swish by unseen.  Although it is early not quite 7AM, the river teems with activity. Water taxis speed by almost toppling us with their wake and fishermen toss and retrieve their nets with the efficiency of years of experience. 

Monday, May 26th, Brian, Justin and I were heading into Llanchama with our Peruvian driver Jack. We were the second wave, heading in to prep interior walls of the school for painting and to deliver supplies and paint we had purchased in the morning. The dirt road that connects the villages wants four-wheel drive when it’s dry, but this was the first time I’d seen it in the rain.

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We are talking soup, here, deeply rutted from by trucks and slippery as a sheet of ice.

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I wasn’t sure the cavalry was gonna make it in, but we weren’t going to leave our troops on malaria turf overnight if we could help it. Our driver, Jack, did an amazing job, only putting us in the ditch once. Even then he managed to extract us miraculously without our having to get out and help. Our man Jack knows what he’s dong behind the weel.

What did we find when we finally pulled into Llanchama? Our first crew, who had been working on school desk repairs, had finished their work and there was a full tilt futbol match (soccer is clearly the number one sport in South America) was in progress in the rain and slop!

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Llanchama takes a throw in.

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This friendly looked like a lot of fun! Notice the condition of the field and the material used for the goal posts.

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The squads pose for a post-match photo. Chris, April A., Jeewon and Jeremiah represented the US (Norte Americanos down here) to the best of their abilities, playiing in extraordinary conditions and loving it by all appearances. Bravo!!

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After the rain cleared, Lanchama actually has a rather beautiful setting on the Nanay River.

Then back to work. The kids helped us wipe down the walls with water before painting the next day. You can see the new desk tops, lighter color, that replaced missing desk tops in this class room.

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The kids in the village really loved helping us clean the walls for painting. Next to a good futbol match, cleaning the walls with the Norte Americanos was the best game in town!

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We all got back to Iquitos safe and sound. Some of those who played futbol maybe been a bit sore the next day, but I know they will tell you it was worth it!

Well, we have begun to sink our teeth into the project which brought us down here in the first place. Driving away from the hustle and bustle of Iquitos to the remote village of Llanchama takes about an hour; the first 30 minutes on paved roads and the rest on a very bumpy dirt road that leaves your rear-end sore. The passing scenery of the rainforest and tributaries of the Amazon River alone justify bruised buttocks. Once in Llanchama, we were immediately greeted by a group of curious children wondering who these crazy Gringos were with backpacks full of bottled water, bugspray and cameras draped around their sweaty necks. Once the initial surprise wore off, we were warmly welcomed into their community. We met with the community leaders and discussed their needs and our potential solutions.Our original plan was to construct one well and do minor repairs on a rooftop rain catchment. Upon analyzing the catchment, it was discovered that the majority of the system would most likely have to be replaced, and as such, we would have insufficient time and resources on this trip to complete those repairs. The well, however, is still a go. Additionally, we are repairing broken desks and constructing new tables and benches for use in the school, as well as painting the inside walls of the classrooms. A few of us have gotten sick (presumably from indirectly ingesting the water) and are working on restoring our health before we join the rest of the group. Other than that, everything is fine and we are having a blast!  -Andrew   

When one lands in Iquitos, Peru, everything immediately acquires a foggy film of some sort; airplane windows, camera lenses, glasses, body, mind and soul.  It’s a bit hot and sticky here.  Iquitos sulks on the banks of the Amazon River smack dab in the middle of the largest equatorial rain forest on the planet.  The city´s tourist propaganda claims she is the largest city in the world that one can not drive to.  One must fly in, or take a boat 2,400 miles up the Amazon.

 We flew.

The city has its distinct ambience.  When we got into town and walked around a bit, well, we knew we´d gone someplace.  Colorful three wheeled moto-taxis are everywhere.  In a sprawling city of 400,000 there are 6,000 of these things we´ve been told, but it seems like more.  Like the locals, we use them when ever we need to go more than a handful of blocks.  The noise they make blasting around town, like thunderous mechanized herds, is at first disconcerting, but we got used to it fairly quickly.  Not only are they inexpensive, about sixty cents for short rides for two or three people, but they have the added beneift of creating a little artificial breeze for the riders.  Did I mention it´s a bit hot and sticky down here?

The locals tell us “Hace frio”, “It´s cold!”  (It is winter down here at the moment)  The folks of Iquitos may know the jungle well and how to get by in an isolated city, but trust me, they don´t know much about “cold.”

Our time in Lima has been well spent learning new words and worlds from palta (avocado) to Pizarro and causa (a delicious Peruvian dish) to the chaos of Lima’s streets.


We are thankful for the gracious way we have been received by the people of Lima.

An archetype is our Professor Orihuela who has led the course in Survival Spanish which has provided invaluable Peruvian vocabulary and enabled us to have basic conversations. You know the important things like, Donde esta los servicios higenicos? meaning Where are the restrooms? Now we travel onward from the 2nd driest city to the largest jungle city, Iquitos.

We took a tour of colonial Lima on Wednesday. We ducked and crouched as we walked through dark and claustrophobic catacombs. It is estimated that 25,000 people are buried in the catacombs. 
          

The old architecture was influenced by the Spanish, French, and Italian. These structures were breath-taking. Two amazing structures that we saw were the President’s House and San Fransico de Asis church. The San Fransico de Asis church had three unique aspects that protected the church from earthquakes, which were the arch, columns, and catacombs. The make-up of the columns comprised of stone, earth, and egg whites. These columns were built so strong that the church withstood the severe 2007 earthquake. It was a great experience to see these beautiful buildings.  

Today, Jeremiah, one of our esteemed students ordered what he thought was beef tenderloin but in reality was a beef heart all while having a beautiful ocean view at Pardo’s Chicken. The beef heart proved to be delicious  but chewy.  
 
After this delicious meal, we all walked about 8 blocks together towards the Parque de Amor on la Costa Verde (the ocean). It is amazing that although Lima isn’t much above sea leve, the cliffs above ocean are amazingly sheer, towering behemoths that lift the city out of the misty sea. We wandered through the parks including Parque de Amor down the sheer cliffs to the beach of large pebbles. The sound of the tide on the pebbles is astounding, a soothing Zen sound that reaches to the soul. Although dirty the pebbled beach conveys a calm atmosphere where waves crash and fishermen fight for territory.
 
Oh, speaking of fighting while we were enjoying the waves, several fishermen ran towards a rowboat riding the rolling waves. As the waves crashed, the fishermen rowed towards the other fisherman while yelling and hollering insults about whose territory the area pertains too. We all enjoyed a brief Seinfeld moment.