Good-byes are never fun Mon, Aug 12

We sadly had to say good-bye to Huacachina and Las Bananas this morning and start our trek back north to Lima.  It was a pretty quiet ride due to being tired, but also knowing this ride ends with packing and a trip to the airport.  We stopped for lunch along the way, and got back to Lima about 5:30pm.  We then spent the next few hours packing up suitcases, and creating gift bags for the Peru kids for Christmas with the donations everyone had given us over the year.
Had our last supper - La Lucha - sooo yummy!!!  Took a little nap, and then the boys showed up around 10:45pm to take us to the airport.  The kids gifted the boys a gift bag of goodies that they LOVED!!!
It was a pretty quiet ride to the airport, reflecting on their time in Peru.  Easily got checked in and saw all sorts of teams heading home from the Pan American Games (Canada, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Guayana....) Busy busy airport!
Sadly said good-bye to the team, but more of a Thank You to our PV team!  What a great week they had!  It was filled with so much laughter, love, smiles, hugs, sand, and Chalk War of 2019!!  Great job, Spartans!  Thank you for taking time out of your summer schedules to travel 4000+ miles away to work in a community very different than your own,  You brought so much joy & love to the faces of many Peruvians, big & little!  You took a risk....and it paid off!  I'm pretty sure you made a great impact on those kids....just as, I'm sure, they have made a positive impact on your lives!  Thank you for all your effort prior to coming to Peru, all your effort while here, and please continue to advocate for these kids.  Thank you Voices4Peru, for all you did for us!  We love what you do and continue to do!
Way to go, Group #10!!
#proudSenorita

Here are some fave pics from the kids from the week:

Huacachina Weekend: Sat, Aug 10-Sun, Aug 11

Today we headed down to the Miraflores district for some shopping and lunch.  Did some great shopping at the Inca market, bargained,and got some great deals!  Lunch was at a famous sandwich place, La Lucha....my personal favorite place ever!  Pollo con pina y palta (chicken with pineapple & avocado - the best!!)
Today's plan takes us south of Lima about 5 hours to the region of Ica, and to the town of Huacachina.  It's a fairly boring drive, but we do drive along the Pacific coast a bit before heading inland.  We arrived after sunset so the kids couldn't see the surprise coming at them in the morning.  Got settled into our room - the place we stay is called Las Bananas, and it's a hostel.  So all us girls were in a 6 bed room and the boys were in a 4 bed room - bunk bed fun!!  All the rooms surround an open-air courtyard, so we headed down for pizza dinner and chillaxed.

Sunday we awoke to our sand paradise.  Literally Huahachina is a small town around a lagoon, which is in the middle of a desert.  Sand for miles and miles.  After breakfast, the kids headed out to venture around the lagoon, and do some shopping.  After lunch, we just chillaxed in the hammocks.  At 3pm, was the dune buggy adventure!  It was a smaller buggy than normal - so was big enough just for our group.  The driver, Josue, took them all up and down and around the dunes, and then picked a hill to go down.  Grabbed the mini-surf boards and down the hill they went!!!  It was a 3-parter and a few wiped out - a few went down the wrong hill.... but all had fun..... and had sand everywhere.  The drivers brought them back and then most of them even kept going and went to climb the big dune to watch sunset.  After showers, we had a big BBQ dinner, and some great Connect 4 competitions :)

Such a chill place - plus we got to see the sun!!!!
Life is good!!!

Last day in Lomas: Fri, Aug 9

Today was our last day up the Hill in Las Lomas. Some of the regulars were out when we first got there,  so we grabbed some balls, balloons,  and bubbles and off we went. More and more started to show. We got the music out and here they came! Did some good dancing for our last day. Got in a fun round of musical chairs. Good ol' fun with Tiburones (Sharks & Minnows). Grabbed to rope for tug-of-war....and then Diego left with the keys to go wash the Jeep. Problem: all our equipment for the next bunch of games was locked in the shed... and Diego had the keys. So we improvised. Took a group picture.  Passed out suckers. Got the balls back out....and sidewalk chalk. So what started out as cute drawing on the court with the chalk ended in kids coloring their faces and clothes with chalk...as well as my gringos.  Looked like pastel skittles threw up all over the place.
But then, sadly came the time to say good-bye. Tears were shed. Smiles & hugs all around. Photos can only capture part of the love.  Great job, Spartans!!
We headed, quietly, to practice,  busted out our Spartan gear, and played some soccer. That was a good distraction!!
Headed to dinner...our last...got our last ice cream, and then back for last practice.
Tomorrow we're heading south out of the city to the sand dunes of Huacachina...and hopefully some sun!

New Games = New Fun!!! Thurs, Aug 8

Today we tried something new with games and it worked GREAT!!!
After playing a bunch of our favorites:  dancing, Duck Duck Goose, Musical Chairs, Tiburones, Tug-of-War, we created Stations.  At each station was a different game run by a different PV student.  So, Kayla was in the 1st corner with Bags.  Bell was in the 2nd corner with ring toss. Ramya & Carter were in the 3rd corner with jump rope, Mr Ahlgren was in the last corner with Golf Toss.  Addie took the middle of the court with Four-Square. We divided the kids into 5 groups and then went to one of the stations.  They got to play the game at their Station for about 4 min, and then we rotated to the next station.  After 4 min, to the next....etc.... until the kids made it all the way around the court.  It was great!!!  The Lomas kids LOVED it because they got to play 5 different games in a matter of about 25 minutes.  Even the Lomas moms commented on how well it went!!!
Way to go, Gringos!!!

It was an early night back as there is no soccer on Thursdays. Another delicious meal - Lomo saltado!!  We have truly enjoyed all the food that Victor's sister has made for us - she is a food magician!!  There are many daily members of the Clean Plate Club!!!

Tomorrow is our last day up the Hill.  Wish us well... I think it's going to be a rough day.....