Our last group of the summer!! I have 6 girls (Addie, Bell, Bri, Carly, Kate & Kayla), 1 boy (Quinn) and a mom (Valerie). They made the trek down to Lima, a bit of fun at check in with overweight suitcases. Great flights - all went well. Luggage made it to Lima - phew!
The boys & I were waiting for the kids at the airport and off we went into the crazy Lima traffic. Back to the apartment/townhouse for a nice welcome from Voices4Peru staff!!! Had a pizza dinner and sat and chatted for a while. Kids were tired so off to showers and bed for them!
Day 2 started when Victor & i took the girls on a tour of Ventanilla, Mi Peru, Pachacutec & Las Lomas. Ventanilla is the city north of Lima, by only 15-20 miles, but an hour in traffic!! Gotta love traffic! We stopped at an overlook so we could see a lot of Mi Peru. Talked about a human trafficking ring and some of the other social issues plaguing this area. We toured bumpy Pachacutec and oddly enough visited a cementary where the mafia "sell" you a plot and then dig up your loved one to see the organs. We stopped down at Bahia Blanca beach for some fun jumping pics. Lunch was up next - we eat at Victor's sister's restaurant. Lunch was ahi de gallina, a very typical Peruvian dish of a cheesy/creamy sauce with shredded chicken, potatoes, and rice.
Next we headed up the hill to Las Lomas, the forgotten/ignored area of Ventanilla. This town has been in existence for over 25 yrs, but yet the city won't pump water to this area. An average family lives off of $300/month, so if university costs the kids $150/month, most kids don't continue in their studies after HS. We were greeted with smiles and shy looks from the kids who were out already. But more showed and the laughter and fun began. The girls jumped right in and played with the kids, even ended up in a 4 on 4 basketball game with the older boys!
Friday is arts & crafts at the center, so most kids went in to participate, so we went for dinner (spaghetti & chicken), a Metro stop to pee and to get some ice cream from McDonalds....with and without spoons, and then off to soccer practice. Only the younger kids had practice today as the big kids have a game tomorrow. My super soccer studs scrimmaged with them and then we did a Gringos vs. Peruanos....and my gringos won!!!!!!!!!!!
All in all, a great first day! Plus, it was Kayla's birthday so we celebrated with some McDonald's ice cream!!!
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